Cane was in the training rooms, staring at his skill list.
More specifically, the only skill which hadn't leveled up yet.
[Innate Luck]
Cane could already feel a headache growing. Considering one had to rank up all of their skills in order to reach the next rank, having more abilities didn't mean it was all benefits. Sometimes, if one had a difficult skill, they might never rank up for their entire lives.
Cane had been pondering how to test his skill. He... hadn't really noticed himself getting luckier, and indeed, how could one quantify luck?
So, Cane was now kitted out with different ways to test his luck.
Since he still didn't know how to activate it, he could only pray in his heart.
"Alright! Test number 1." Cane activated moving targets, which would move around a track erratically. It would then be the job of the shooter to hit all of the targets.
He placed a camera down to record the following movements.
Picking up his pistol, he turned around, aimed behind his back, and fired.
Ding!
Cane's eyes widened in shock. Quickly spinning around, he watched the target fall to the ground, its chest smoking and sporting a new hole.
"What... the... hell!" Grinning like an idiot, he ran to the camera and watched the feedback. When Cane first shot, it seemed like the bullet wouldn't hit anything. The path of the bullet would miss It, just shy of the target. Then, the erratic movement sent the target spinning and hurtling into the bullet's pathway.
Cane stepped back in shock. Can this work... for ALL the targets?
Eager to try it out, he activated the moving targets once more, turned around, and fired behind his back. He fired 5 shots.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
Out of the five, only one shot missed. With this new revelation, Cane began to laugh with glee. Wasn't this just cheating? While others would have to train to be so skilled that bad luck wasn't a factor, Cane could train and have luck be a factor.
Cane pondered for a moment. Then, he tried to do the same as before, only, he was facing the targets this time.
He shot 5 times in quick succession.
Ding!
What?? As Cane stood, confused, an idea slowly dawned on him.
Could it be, that he got innate luck whenever it was an uncontrollable situation?
Cane quickly turned around and fired 5 shots randomly. This time, with his back facing the targets, he managed to land every single shot.
"Damn! This is a crazy skill..." Cane was thoroughly impressed with Innate Luck.
Hmm... Does this skill only work in combat, though? Cane was unsure. So, he had to do something about it!
Cane quickly exited the Border.
...
... And back he came.
With an antique, six-shot revolver.
He entered his room, took a deep breath, and loaded the revolver with a single bullet. Then, he spun it rapidly, locked it again, and, closing his eyes, he shot at his hand.
Cane wasn't fully ready to take a chance at death.
Click.
No bullet? No... bullet? NO BULLET!
Cane was ecstatic. He immediately took out other things which he'd bought.
Scratch tickets.
Gambling, oh gambling. What a tax you are! You're a tax for the greedy, a tax for the poor and a tax for the stupid. Who could ever imagine winning your favour, your love?
Cane could.
He spread the pile of scratch tickets over his table like a money spread. Picking up the first one, he scratched at it.
For these specific types of tickets, as long as you got a three-in-a-row of any number, you could get the corresponding amount. For example, winning a 1, 1, 1 would get you 111 points. Winning a 9, 9, 9 could get you 999 points. Of course, there was also the famed 0, 0, 0. This, unlike what most people thought, would lead to an even 1000 points.
At this stage in time, it's best to really go over the currency system of the City. Points were what people called the currency, due to their special ability to turn from physical notes into digital coins, and then back again.
An average person could survive off of 90 points a day, although that'd be the bare minimum. Also, the minimum wage for the City was 9 points an hour.
Basically, one had to work for 10 hours a day on minimum wage in order to survive.
However, having a higher pay was not the start of luxury. Perhaps within the middle and inner city, or even, the Capital, this might ring true. But for people who lived on the outer city, most things which weren't necessary to survive were very expensive.
If one didn't have savings, they could end up on the streets after even a broken arm. The hospital bill would be enormous.
So, many people turned to gambling. Gambling could lead to massive wins, although I'm pretty sure they're all rigged.
Many people gambled, and very few won. And yet, every gambler would come back for more - even though they would inevitably lose again.
All in all, one ticket was about 20 points. This led to an interesting phenomenon where gamblers would work harder than the average citizen, all so they could get their hands on gambling tickets and still keep enough money to last for the day.
Cane's first ticket...
Was a dud.
1, 3, 9. Damn it. Should I really have gambled?
Cane pondered for a moment... then, he shook his head. No! I'll definitely get my big break soon. He then scratched the second ticket.
4, 6, 3. Another dud. Cane was now seriously regretting it, but like all gamblers, he held onto the hope of a bigger win.
After all, if you lose too many times, that just means a win is right around the corner, right? Plus! 99% of all gamblers quit before they win big.
6, 8, 1. F*ck, is it too late to refund? I've already lost three times in a row.
Then, Cane rethought. No! I still have 27 tries left.
He continued on.
This time, though, it looked like his luck was finally going up.
1, 1, 1! A win? But wait, there's more!
9, 9, 9! The second highest number he could win. Cane now fully trusted the gambling statistics.
Never quit gambling! Your win is right around the corner, silly!
Then, Cane hit a true mother load. 7 in a row, all of them reading 7, 7, 7.
Then, he hit another dud. One 1, 5, 9.
Then, he hit yet another dud, one 4, 2, 2.
Cane became nervous again. No, surely I'll win big again. These losses are nothing compared to what I've already won.
For reference, he'd lost 100 points in duds, but won almost 6,550 points in return. That was more than surviving a single monster wave!
He won another ticket, earning him 333 points.
Then, he lost once more, with one 6, 2, 6.
And then again, with one 9, 7, 5.
Cane's face grew dark. Damn, they're really running a scam here. If I didn't have Innate Luck, I'd totally be broke by now!
Cane won 4 more, each of them worth 444 points. Yes! We are SO back! This CANNOT be a scam, wow!
Cane then got a crazy result, two 4, 1, 4's in a row. Yes, two of them.
After that result, Cane contemplated a rope and a chair.
This contemplation ended when his next 3 results were all wins, one worth 888, one worth 999 and the other worth 555.
He earned another 111, nothing too special. Then, the mother load struck.
0, 0, 0.
1000! He actually earned the biggest jackpot the ticket could offer! Cane was once again ecstatic.
Finally, Cane ended his gambling streak with two losses. Two 7, 1, 9's in a row. Yes, once again, they were the exact same, and consecutive.
All in all, Cane had done 30 rounds of gambling. He'd lost 220 points in duds, but in total?
He'd managed to earn 12,211 points!
Gambling was actually worth it?
Cane was absolutely dumbfounded, but the numbers didn't lie. If he really wanted to, he might've tried living off gambling money forever.
As Cane was twirling around his pistols with joy, an alarm suddenly rang out.
Startled, he accidently shot into the winning pile of tickets, leaving only a single ticket worth 111 points.
"Damn it!" As he despaired over the tickets, he realised something.
"Oh... wait... THAT WAS A LEVEL 4 ALARM!" F*ck! Cane grabbed his pistols and daggers, dropping them into his backpack and rushing outside the door.
On his way out, he caught the backs of the others.
"Wait up guys!" When his voice reached them, Krouse turned around and waved at Cane excitedly.
"Hey Cane! It's a level 4 alarm! You've never fought a Rank 4 monster before right? Neither have I. So, you'd better not die!" Krouse turned to the others, who were still running. "That goes for you guys too!"
Wait, why is Krouse's hands reddish...
Shaking off the stray thought, Cane sped up and caught up with the others.
As they neared the Border, the team immediately noticed the Rank 4 monster. Well, it'd be hard not to. After all, this was the Rank 4 monster, Sky Serpent.
As the name suggested, the Sky Serpent was a giant snake which could fly. It was like a dragon in almost every way, except for the fact that it didn't have wings. That might've been an upgrade, actually?
The team reached the Border. As it turned out, there was only one monster - that was good. It meant they could focus on the Sky Serpent without other distractions.
Noelle leaped up to the Sky Serpent's head, conjuring a giant drill. Chuck set up a turret station, which Cane quickly replicated. Abel's syringe gun was replicated too, and then Cane was rushing for the other turrets lining the walls of the Border.
A Rank 4 monster, huh? F*ck, I really wanna live off gambling instead.