[Location: The Center Ring - The Jester's Stage]
[Time: 06:30 PM]
[Game: The Wheel of Misfortune]
The lights inside the tent blazed to life.
It looked like a twisted version of a TV Game Show.
There was a live studio audience—but they were all tied-up skeletons with painted smiles.
Applause. Applause. (Canned laughter playing from speakers).
The Jester cartwheeled to the center stage. He held a microphone made of a human femur bone.
"Ladies and Gentlemen! Ghosts and Ghouls!" The Jester screamed excitedly. "Welcome to everyone's favorite game show: SPIN! THAT! WHEEL!"
A massive, rusted iron wheel descended from the ceiling. It was divided into slices, each painted with a gruesome image.
The Guillotine (Decapitation)The Acid Bath (Melting)The Box of Spiders (Torture)The Void (Instant Death)Prize (A tiny slice, 1% of the wheel).
Ryan looked at the wheel. "Let me guess. The house always wins?"
The Jester giggled. "Correct! The rules are simple. You spin the wheel. Whatever it lands on... happens to you! If you land on 'Prize', you get the Key to the Tower."
"But if you refuse to play... my pet lions will eat you."
The Jester pointed to the cages surrounding the stage. Inside were Mutated Zombie Lions (Level 35). They were drooling.
Ryan looked at the Lions. Then at the Wheel.
"Grog," Ryan asked. "Can you fight three zombie lions?"
Grog shook his head rapidly. "Grog loves cats. But not big dead cats."
"Okay," Ryan stepped forward. "I'll play."
He walked up to the massive wheel.
The Jester floated beside him, grinning ear to ear.
"Are you scared? Are you trembling? The odds are 99 to 1 against you!"
Ryan looked at the camera drone.
"Chat, never gamble unless you know the dealer is cheating. And since he is cheating..."
Ryan turned to his team.
"Felix! Come here!"
Felix, the boy with S-Rank Bad Luck, walked up nervously.
"Me? Boss, I never win anything. Once I bought a lottery ticket and I owed them money."
"Exactly," Ryan grinned. "Jester, the rules say 'My Team' spins the wheel, right?"
The Jester shrugged. "Doesn't matter. You all die anyway."
Ryan grabbed Felix's hand.
"Felix, I want you to spin this wheel. But I want you to aim for the 'Void' (Instant Death) slice."
Felix's eyes popped out. "WHAT?! You want me to die?!"
"Trust me," Ryan whispered. "Your luck is so bad, that if you try to die... the universe won't let you. It will make you fail at failing."
Felix looked confused, but he was too scared to argue.
He grabbed the wheel.
"I hope I die painlessly..." Felix whimpered.
He spun it with all his might.
WHIRRRRRRR...
The heavy iron wheel spun rapidly.
Tick... tick... tick...
The Jester licked his lips. "Round and round it goes! Where it stops, nobody knows! (Except me, it's rigged)."
The wheel started to slow down.
It was landing on 'The Acid Bath'.
Then it clicked past it.
It was landing on 'The Void'.
Felix screamed. "I KNEW IT!"
But suddenly...
CREAK.
A rusty bolt on the wheel snapped (Felix's luck).
The wheel wobbled.
It clicked one more time.
Tick.
It landed on the tiny, sliver-thin slice labeled: jackpot.
The entire tent went silent.
The Jester's jaw dropped to the floor. Literally. It unhinged.
"What...?"
The canned laughter stopped.
Even the Zombie Lions stopped growling.
Ryan looked at the result.
"Oops," Ryan shrugged. "Looks like we won. Felix, you are a genius."
Felix fainted from shock.
[System Notification: 'Aura of Misfortune' successfully weaponized.]
[Fear Points: +5,000 (The Jester is shook).]
Ryan held out his hand.
"Key. Now."
The Jester stared at the wheel. Then at Ryan. His face turned red. Then purple. Then black.
"NO!" The Jester screamed, smashing his microphone. "YOU CHEATED! NOBODY WINS! THIS IS MY WORLD!"
The Jester snapped his fingers.
The cages opened.
The Zombie Lions charged out.
The floor opened up, revealing spikes.
The Jester grew in size, turning into a massive, 15-foot tall demonic clown with spider legs.
"I AM THE GAME MASTER! I MAKE THE RULES!"
Ryan sighed. He tapped his wristwatch (Pandora).
"I hate sore losers."
"Pandora... Form Change: Minigun."
CLICK-CLACK-WHIRR.
The black metal on his wrist expanded, turning into a six-barreled Gatling gun glowing with blue mana.
Ryan aimed at the charging lions.
"Grog! Protect Felix! Annabelle! Go for the eyes!"
He pulled the trigger.
"SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND!"
BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRT!
A stream of blue spirit bullets shredded the air.
The Zombie Lions were turned into swiss cheese before they could even roar.
SPLAT. SPLAT. SPLAT.
The Jester shrieked as bullets hit his giant spider legs.
"MY LEG! THAT'S NOT FAIR! GUNS AREN'T ALLOWED IN A GAME SHOW!"
"I updated the rules," Ryan shouted over the noise of the minigun. "Rule #1: The Streamer always gets the content!"
He aimed the minigun at the Jester's face.
"Now... smile for the thumbnail!"