We landed very close to Sloan, but outside the settlement limits. It was so small that I didn’t even know if we could call it a settlement; it was tiny. Luckily, it was predawn, and everybody was asleep. After deflating and folding the balloon in the basket, Mahya could store it without witnesses.
I asked them both, “What do you think? Should we order a cab from Vegas, or maybe someone here drives a cab?”
Al scratched his head, his brow furrowed in thought, and shrugged. Mahya’s eyes darted around, a sign she was weighing the options.
Mahya finally said, “I think the best idea would be for Al and me to ride his motorcycle and you on your ATV to the city limits, then take a taxi from there.”
“Do we have gas?” I asked.
“Yes,” Mahya responded quickly. “I bought some after our conversation.”
To be on the safe side, we walked away for another five minutes, keeping a cautious eye on our surroundings. Mahya then revealed the most beautiful ATV I had ever seen. She gestured toward it with a flourish; her face beaming with pride. It was red, with two seats, a roll cage, and enormous wheels.
I walked around it, my eyes wide with admiration. It was perfect. I turned to Mahya, my gratitude clear in my voice. “Thank you,” I said, my eyes meeting hers sincerely.
Mahya shrugged, her expression softening but with a hint of a smirk. “Don’t thank me yet. You paid for it, and I didn’t do anything with it. Thank me when I’m done converting it.”
“Do you have a plan for how to do it?” I asked, curious.
“Not yet,” she admitted, her eyes narrowing slightly, “I’m learning my bike as I go but haven’t started on yours yet. It will take time.” She sounded frustrated.
“No hurry, we have years,” I said reassuringly, hoping to calm her.
Mahya shook her head, her expression growing more intense. “No, we don’t. I hate riding animals, and we’re leaving soon.”
“Yeah, but we have the bicycles.”
“They’re so slow!” she exclaimed, throwing her hands up in exasperation and her face twisted in annoyance.
Rue chimed in, “Slow bad! Fast good!”
The three of us started laughing, and Mahya said, “You see, Rue gets it.”
After filling the bike and the ATV, we rode to Vegas. When we reached the Southern Highlands community, we stored the vehicles, called a taxi, and rode to the strip.
We went to a cafe in the Venetian mall for breakfast, and I started looking for accommodation options on the computer. I had originally told Sonak we would stay at the Bellagio, but checking online showed me they didn’t have a big enough suite. I kept looking and found that Palms Casino Resort has a five-bedroom suite. Although there will only be four of us in the meantime, it was a good idea to think about the Traveler who will join us after the rescue.
I told Mahya and Al, “It will look suspicious if we show up without luggage, and changing our IDs is also a good idea. Our names are listed in too many government agencies because of all the red tape with the balloon. I suggest we go to a luggage store, buy suitcases, fill them in the bathroom with our stuff, switch identities, and then go to the hotel.”
After we got settled in the hotel, I sent Sonak a message through the Archive where we were, and we went to sleep.
In the evening, after “breakfast,” I suggested a walk on the strip. When Rue heard that he would have to be on a leash all the time, he stayed in the hotel with the TV. I suspected the leash wasn’t the problem; he was already used to it. He just wanted to enjoy the enormous TV.
Throughout our walk along the Strip, Mahya and Al looked around wide-eyed, occasionally exclaiming with delight or amazement. “Wait till you see the casinos from the inside,” I told them.
We were near the Luxor, so I led them inside. Their eyes widened even more. I gave them a tour of the casino and explained how to play blackjack, roulette, slot machines, and craps.
They both enthusiastically ran to the cashiers and bought a lot of chips. I did it more leisurely. As I was buying chips, it occurred to me that if there were a perfect place to use my Luck Trait, it would be a casino.
I activated my Luck and felt a direction. Following the feeling, I arrived at the blackjack table. A specific seat “pinged” me as I looked at the seats. I sat down and started playing. It didn’t feel like my Luck was tipping the scale in my favor, but I won almost all the hands. Out of about twenty-twenty-five hands, I only lost two. My total winnings were a little above $6,000.
When a new dealer came to replace the previous one, I felt a new pull to another table. I played two more hands so it wouldn’t look suspicious and lost both. Following the pull led me to a craps table. Not being a fan of this game, I looked for another table, but that table kept calling my name. I tried to re-activate the Trait to get a new direction, but the pull continued to the same table.
I tried to tell my luck, “I don’t want craps, I want roulette or blackjack.” But it didn’t help. The pull continued in the same direction.
Exasperated, I followed the feeling and stepped up to the craps table in the “pinged” spot. The shooter before me had “sevened out,” ending his turn, and now it was my turn. I placed a modest bet on the pass line—no need to advertise my certainty.
The dice bounced and rattled across the green felt, every eye in the vicinity tracking their erratic path. Of course, they settled on a 7—a natural win. Cheers erupted from my fellow players as the dealer pushed more chips towards me. Turns out Luck was working overtime today; the numbers kept coming up in my favor, and the chips piled up in front of me. Ten minutes turned into fifteen, and fifteen into twenty. Each roll seemed to extend my streak, and the excitement around the table grew. The atmosphere at the table was electric, with shouts of encouragement and good-natured banter filling the air.
Half an hour later, I glanced down at the chips stacked in front of me. The initial hundred dollars had grown exponentially; I had surpassed the $8,000 mark. I called out, “Color up!” the dealer traded my chips for higher denominations. Once I had given him a $100 tip, I left. It was fun, but I didn’t like dice games. The annoying part was that the pull didn’t change—It still was to that specific table. So, I growled quietly and went to the bar instead.
While I was drinking a beer at the bar, Mahya came over. “Why are you drinking instead of playing?”
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“I needed a break,” I said out loud, adding telepathically, “My luck keeps pulling me to a game I don’t like.”
“Good idea,” she said and asked mentally, “Why are we talking mentally?”
“I read once that casinos employ people that can read lips. I don’t know if it’s true, but I don’t want to take a chance.”
“I’m tired,” she said, crossing her arms on the bar and putting her head down on her arms. “Al lost almost $10,000, got upset, bought telekinesis, and now he’s cheating.”
I smirked into my beer bottle. “Why am I not surprised? How about you?”
“About even. Which table pulled you?”
“Let’s go back to playing before you fall asleep,” I said out loud, pulling her arm. “I’ll show you.”
The “pinged” spot was new, but on the same table. A person recognized me and asked, “Came for a second round?”
“I told my friend about this great table, and she wanted to try it too.”
When Mahya’s turn came, she won $300 and then “crapped out.” The dealer looked at me. I sighed mentally, knowing that until I “milked” the luck of this table, I wouldn’t get a direction to another table, and nodded. This time, I won $2,750 and finally got a new direction.
“Let’s go together,” she said out loud, adding, “Can you direct your luck my way?”
“Maybe? I don’t know. It did partially work right now.”
This time, the table was a roulette. Finally! I gave my Luck double thumbs up.
Mahya stood next to me, and after two hours, I won $59,000, and she won $7,400. It turns out that luck can rub off.
After about another hour in the casino, with total winnings of almost $100,000, I decided it was time to change casinos, just in case. We found Al by sense, and I told him mentally, “Let’s switch casinos. I won a lot and don’t want to stand out.”
After we left Luxor, I activated my Luck again, which led us to MGM Grand. On the way, my red light started blinking.
“let’s stop for a minute; I need to check something.”
Songs you brought to a different world have become famous and loved by over three thousand people.
Songs you created have become famous and loved by over a hundred thousand people, bringing them joy and dreams of sailing.
You have demonstrated the joy of creation and the love of music.
New class unlocked: [Bard]
Would you like to take the Bard Class as your sub-class?
Note: Taking this sub-class will allow you to use the banked advancement.
Note: Due to your achievement, you can take the Bard Class without spending ability points, and the class’s strength will be parallel to that of a main class.
Y/N
I couldn’t contain my excitement. My feet started moving on their own, and before I knew it, I was doing a little happy dance. I wiggled my butt from side to side, feeling the joy bubble up inside me. My arms joined in, waving and flailing in sync with my movements. I spun around, grinning from ear to ear, letting the pure glee take over. Each step and wiggle expressed my elation, and I didn’t care who was watching. At that moment, I felt a surge of elation and celebrated the sheer joy of the moment with every goofy move.
YES, YES, YES, and another yes, just to be sure!
The light was still blinking.
New Quality unlocked
Creativity
Clicked Creativity to admire my new Trait, and I LOVED it.
Creativity
This quality does not have physical or mental aspects.
Creativity affects imagination, innovation, and originality.
Creativity is the invisible spark igniting ideas, inventions, artistry, and unique solutions.
Creativity is the internal motivation to discover new opportunities, think innovatively, and perceive the world uniquely.
Creativity is the guiding force that leads you to endless realms of discovery and expression.
Creativity fuels the connection to the arts, inspiring the creation of visual masterpieces, literary works, and performances.
Creativity is the rhythmic pulse driving musical composition and improvisation, turning sounds into moving symphonies and captivating melodies.
I read the description and felt a thrill of excitement rush through me. My eyes widened, and a smile spread across my face as I took in each word. This is it, I thought to myself, the greatest thing in the world. I nodded in appreciation, my body tingling with inspiration. This is exactly how I felt about creativity—this invisible spark, this driving force. I couldn’t help but let out a small, happy sigh, feeling deeply connected to the words before me. And, of course, do another butt wiggle; it was a MUST.
I opened the class description to see what I got:
BARD
This is an uncommon and respected class.
Bards use their talents for entertainment and for support.
When received, this class offers 3 starting skills or spells and an additional skill or spell every 5 levels.
When a Bard levels a skill to its highest level [25], they can choose another skill or spell from the list to level.
Each level gives +3 Perception, +3 Vitality, +2 Creativity, +3 free points
The light was still blinking.
Level up
+3 Perception, +3 Vitality, +2 Creativity, +3 free points
Bard Level 2
Stat points: 3
Level up
+3 Perception, +3 Vitality, +2 Creativity, +3 free points
Bard Level 3
Stat points: 6
Of course, I put the new stats in Creativity. My new baby needed love and nourishment.
I went to my profile, and there were two new lines:
Sub-Class 3: Bard Level 3
Bard Spells and Skills:
* Arcane Lullaby
* Harmonic Illusion
* Rhythmic Resonance
I checked them one by one:
Arcane Lullaby
Playing a calming tune can put enemies to sleep or pacify aggressive creatures, providing a brief window for peaceful resolution or escape.
The sphere of influence grows with the skill levels.
Harmonic Illusion
The Bard can create complex illusions to accompany their performance, enhancing the visual spectacle and immersing the audience in a magical display.
Illusion’s complexity grows with the skill levels.
Rhythmic Resonance
The Bard can temporarily alter the surrounding environment by attuning their music to the world’s natural rhythms, such as calming turbulent waters or causing plants to grow faster.
The sphere of effect grows with the skill levels.
This time, I couldn’t help myself and started dancing Gangnam Style. I heard Mahya telling passers-by I had too much to drink, and them laughing, and I DIDN’T CARE!
Mahya grabbed my arm and led me to a side alley. “What’s happening? You look too happy.”
After some drunk guy that was pissing on the wall stumbled out of the alley, I showed both of them the new screens one by one, and they congratulated me repeatedly.
After calming down from my elation, I activated my Luck again, and it still led us to MGM Grand. Three hours in the MGM netted me 139K, Mahya 27K, and Al cheat-won 15K.
When we left the MGM, I asked Mahya, “If we change glamor, can we change it back?”
“Yeah, no problem.”
So after changing glamor, we visited another three casinos, changed glamor again, and another four casinos. After over 30 hours of gambling, we changed glamor back to the one we booked the hotel with, returned to the hotel, and went to sleep.
Total earnings:
Me: $1,762, 650
Mahya: $601, 400
Al: $568,000
Before going to sleep, I checked the Archive and saw that Sonak arrived in LA. He would be here soon, and it would be time to go to work. But before the ‘Grand Mission’—I giggled to myself after thinking in those terms—it was nice to have a very profitable break, money-wise and class-wise.
Life was simply great.