Chapter 8: "I Got +25 Perception but All I See Is Doom"
Elias finally arrived home and spotted a familiar white BMW parked in the driveway.
Yep, that's definitely Principal Kim's car.
As he approached, the passenger door swung open, and Eve hopped out.
"Took you long enough! I was about to be laid to rest by my grandkids," she said with a cheeky grin.
Elias rolled his eyes. "Hilarious," he muttered, clearly exasperated.
Still smiling smugly, Eve strolled toward the house without bothering to close the door behind her. Elias sighed and walked over to shut it.
Before doing so, he leaned in and said politely, "Principal Kim, thanks for feeding my sister and bringing her home."
Principal Kim gave him a long, scrutinizing look before offering a curt, professional smile.
"It's nothing," she replied flatly.
The moment the door clicked shut, she backed out of the driveway and disappeared down the street, her taillights quickly vanishing into the distance.
Elias stood there for a moment, rubbing the side of his face awkwardly.
He had the distinct feeling Principal Kim didn't like him much—and honestly, he couldn't blame her.
Compared to his twin sister—who had stellar grades, a charming personality, and the admiration of teachers and students alike—he was painfully average. Worse, his strange luck tended to stir up some kind of chaos almost every day.
'Why would she like me?'
Elias shook his head and stepped into the house. He spotted Eve at the kitchen counter, dumping the contents of a large plastic ziploc bag onto a plate. Whatever the food used to be, it now looked like a tragic culinary landslide.
Eve glanced up, watching him toss his backpack aside and kick off his shoes. She beamed and held out the plate toward him.
"Figured you probably didn't eat. Miss Kim gave me the leftovers! Just gotta heat it up in the microwave."
Elias eyed the mess on the plate like it might bite him.
Eve huffed, clearly offended. "It tasted good, okay? It just got a little mixed up in the bag. Still better than anything you cook, I promise you that."
His mouth fell open in mock outrage. "Wow. Fine. I'll believe you. Just don't slander my cooking while you're at it," he grumbled, grabbing the plate and popping it into the microwave.
He stood there, arms crossed, watching the food spin around like it held the answers to life's mysteries.
Eve glanced over at him, suddenly hesitant. "Hey… would you be okay if I—"
Beep! Beep! Beep!
The microwave cut her off with mechanical enthusiasm.
"What was that?" Elias asked, turning to retrieve the steaming plate of vaguely edible leftovers.Eve quickly closed her mouth.
"Nothing," she coughed out hastily. "I was just wondering if you mind if I shower before you tonight?"
Elias blinked, then suddenly remembered something.
"Hey, wait—before you go. Can you see anything?" he asked, pulling up the system interface with a flick of his thoughts.
Eve gave him a confused look. "Can you be more specific? What exactly am I supposed to be looking at?"
She stared ahead, seemingly oblivious to the floating translucent screen right in front of her.
So she really can't see it, Elias thought, mildly relieved. He dismissed the screen.
"Sorry," he said aloud, quickly improvising, "Officer Clifford made me coffee earlier. I just wanted to make sure I didn't spill any on myself."
Eve narrowed her eyes slightly, clearly suspicious—but didn't press the issue. She had her own secrets, after all.
Elias sighed and waved her off. "Go ahead and shower. Just… please don't use up all the hot water again like last time."
Eve pulled a dramatic face and grinned. "No promises. I literally can't survive without lava-temperature water pouring over my skin. Besides, my shampoo and conditioner already paid admission to my live singing performance. I can't disappoint the crowd—they deserve their money's worth!"
Elias chose to ignore her joke. He sat down at the table, fork in hand, and began poking at the food—taking his first cautious bite like he was testing for poison.
Eve giggled, then suddenly bolted off like a whirlwind. In a flash, she snatched a change of clothes and dashed into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her.
—--
Later that night, Elias laid on his bed while looking at the system screen.
Host: Elias Graves
Status: Healthy
Age: 16
Lifespan Remaining: 217 years
Race: Human / High Human Hybrid
Title(s):
(GOD) Child of Fortuna
(MYTH) Bringer of Disaster
Awakener Tier: Unranked (UR) (Host is not yet an awakener)
---
Stats
(Average for adult human male is 10 except HP, MP, and Energy)
HP: 90/90
MP: 100/100
ENG: N/A (Host is not yet an awakener)
STR: 7
DEF: 8
AGI: 11
END: 8
INT: 10
WIS: 13
VIT: 9
WIL: 14
DEX: 7
PER: 11
CHA: 6
CHM: 14
SOUL: 10
LUK: 3,567,893,450
Unallocated Stats: 0
---
Traits
(GOD) Child of Luck
(MYTH) Walking Disaster
Skills
(UR) Arithmetic – Lv. 2
(UR) English – Lv. 4
(UR) Piano – Lv. 1
(UR) Singing – Lv. 1
(UR) Physics – Lv. 1
(UR) Biology – Lv. 1
(UR) Cleaning – Lv. 1
Current Quests: None
Lucky Points (LP): 0
---
Items
1x (UR) Lucky Draw Coupon
1x (IRN) Lucky Draw Coupon
1x (BRZ) Lucky Draw Coupon
1x (SLV) Lucky Draw Coupon
1x (GLD) Lucky Draw Coupon
---
[Available Quests]
[Lucky Draws]He brought his arm closer to the glowing screen. Although he could see it clearly—bright and vivid even in the darkened room—he realized it didn't actually emit light. There was no glow reflecting on his skin.
Is this thing… in my mind? he wondered.
Could it just be my imagination?
He frowned slightly. I haven't really felt any concrete benefits from it yet. For all I know, it might not even be real.
His gaze shifted to the Unranked Free Draw Coupon hovering near the bottom of the interface.
Maybe I can use this to confirm whether it's real… or just a figment of my imagination.
As if in response, a message appeared:
[Does the host wish to use (UR) Free Lucky Coupon?]
[Yes] [No]
"Yes," Elias whispered.
Suddenly, a radiant golden gacha screen burst to life in front of him, flickering with arcs of magical energy. At the top of the display, a large, glowing 8 shimmered brightly, signaling the number of possible outcomes—or perhaps the start of the spin.
The panel whirred into motion, cycling rapidly through the words Skill, Item, Trait, Title, and Stats in a mesmerizing blur. Elias couldn't tear his eyes away, completely entranced by the ever-shifting display.
[Congratulations! You've received Item (UR) Compact Survival Toolkit!]
[Description: A foldable multitool (knife, pliers, screwdriver), a flint striker, waterproof matches, a signal whistle, a mini sewing kit, and a length of paracord wrapped as a bracelet.]
He saw the item appear under his list of inventory on the screen. Elias's mouth twitched. While he could see its usefulness, it still looked like something he could buy at a camping store. Then again, it was just an unranked item.
"How do I retrieve the item?" he wondered aloud.
As if in response, a palm-sized metal case appeared in his hand, cool and solid. Etched on the top was a small emblem: the number 8.
Elias turned on his night lamp to get a better look at it.
"Number 8? I think some Eastern countries consider that number lucky," he murmured, running his thumb over the engraved symbol.
He opened the case and confirmed the contents. Everything matched the description. He exhaled in relief.
"Well, at least I know I haven't gone crazy," he muttered. "Is there a way to put it back?"
The case vanished instantly from his hand and reappeared in the item list on the screen. His eyes lit up.
"Well, that's convenient. I have an inventory?"
He turned to his phone, holding it up with curiosity.
"Inventory, take it in!" he declared.
After a beat of awkward silence, his phone remained firmly in his hand. Then a message appeared:
[Host is currently unable to store non-system-provided items in system space.]
Elias blushed with embarrassment. He had gotten a little too excited and just done something undeniably cringe-worthy.
Still… didn't the message say "currently"?
Doesn't that mean I might be able to store other things in the future? he thought, hope flickering in his chest.
His eyes shifted toward the remaining four coupons, excitement beginning to build. Now that he knew the system was real, there was no way he wasn't going to try the others.
[Sensing Host's desire to use all current Free Draw Coupons. Would you like to proceed?]
[Yes] [No]
Elias selected [Yes], and once again, the golden gacha screen burst to life—this time with four slots spinning simultaneously.
He leaned forward, eyes locked on the glowing reels as they began to slow, one by one, and finally stopped.
[Congratulations! You've received Trait (IRN) Danger Reflex!]
[Congratulations! You've received Skill (BRZ) Berserk Sprint!]
[Congratulations! You've received Title (SLV) Ghost in the Crosshairs!]
[Congratulations! You've received Stats (GLD) +25 PER!]
Elias's eyes widened as each reward appeared in sequence. The first thing he noticed was a sudden sharpening of his senses. He could instinctively sense where most objects were in the room. His night vision had improved dramatically, and he could faintly hear his sister's soft breathing from the next room.
His Perception stat had jumped all the way to a whopping 36 points in one go. "Whoa, this is incredible!" he said, looking around the room with his enhanced vision. After a moment, he slowly adjusted to his new senses and turned his attention to the other rewards.
[Trait (IRN) Danger Reflex]
[Description: Your body responds to danger faster than your conscious mind. When startled, ambushed, or attacked, your reaction time increases sharply for a brief window.
Dodging, flinching, or bracing becomes 30–40% faster than the human average during that instant.
Outside of danger, this trait does nothing. It is not always graceful—but it is fast.]
Elias rubbed his chin in thought. Considering there was a chance someone might be after his life, this skill was extremely useful. He then turned his attention to the other two.
[Skill [BRZ] Berserk Sprint]
[ Description: For 30 seconds you can run 5x your agility. (5 minute cool down)]
[Title (SLV) Ghost in the Crosshairs]
[Description:
Passive effect: Enemies trying to attack or aim at host suffer a mild delay or hesitation in locking on—magical, physical, or mental targeting abilities feel "off."
Surveillance tech, detection spells, and guided projectiles have a slight chance to misfire or miss entirely when used against him.
The more lethal the intent, the more likely it is to slip.
Active effect: 1x per day host can become completely unnoticeable for 10 seconds.]
Elias couldn't help but feel an ominous chill crawl down his spine. Why did it feel like he was unlucky to receive these rewards? Was the system jinxing him—preparing him to be hunted or thrown into danger?
He sighed. There wasn't much he could do about it now, and he couldn't exactly test any of the new abilities in the middle of the night. He turned off his lamp and drifted off to sleep.