The room was dark, save for the pale blue glow of the Essence System interface floating in the air before me like a ghost.
> **\[10x Copper Spins – Initiated…]**
I leaned in, heart pounding. I knew better—**copper-grade was bottom-tier**. But still, some part of me hoped for something good. Something… *useful*.
> **Spin Results:**
>
> 1. *Pack of instant ramen (spicy shrimp)*
> 2. *\$60*
> 3. **The Cavalier**
> 4. *Goggles of Minor Seeing (Magical – Common)*
> 5. *Protection III Leather Armor (Complete Set – Minecraft)*
> 6. *\$640*
> 7. *EMP Grenades ×8*
> 8. *Shocker's Gauntlets (basic vibration)*
> 9. *Healing Potion (Low-Level)*
> 10. *Coupon for "One Free Hug" (non-magical)*
I scanned the loot. The ramen and the coupon? Classic system trolling. *(I am not lonely, thank you very much.)* The cash wasn't bad, but it was the real gear—the gold buried in the garbage—that made my pulse quicken.
**The Cavalier.**
A skilled swordsman, athlete, and brawler. Agile, clever, deadly.
Carried a rapier that emitted electric blasts.
*Would've been nice if I got the sword too.*
I didn't hesitate.
> **\[Absorb Essence – "The Cavalier": 1%]**
The real stuff? **Shocker's Gauntlets. EMP grenades. Magic goggles. Enchanted leather armor.**
The goggles were sleek, disguised like everyday glasses.
> **Goggles of Minor Seeing – (Magical, Common)**
> • Night vision
> • HUD overlay (heat signatures, danger warnings, combat breakdown)
> • Duration: 3 years (magical charge)
**Game. Changer.**
---
The next day, I walked into a casino looking like money, goggles perched on my nose like any hipster's prescription lenses.
Dropped a grand on chips. Played it cool. Blackjack? I could see the dealer's cards. Easy money.
Poker? Still tricky. You can't cheat luck. But skill helps.
I walked out **\$7,000** richer.
Could've gone for more, but I kept it low-key. Eyes open. Head down.
---
That night, I suited up.
The enchanted leather armor glowed faintly beneath my clothes. I threw on a hoodie, made a half-assed mask. Looked weird. Didn't care.
I hit the streets. Looking for trouble. Looking for an achievement trigger.
I found it thirty minutes in.
Two thugs—one thick and tattooed, the other wiry—beating the hell out of some skinny teen against a graffiti-covered wall.
I slid the goggles down. Heat signatures lit them up.
Both armed. Both dangerous.
I didn't hesitate.
Raised the **Shocker's Gauntlet**.
Fired near the big guy's leg.
He *launched* into a trash bin like a ragdoll. Metal shrieked as it buckled around him.
The wiry one spun, pulling a gun. Too slow.
I sprinted, leaped, and slammed a kick straight into his ribs. He crashed into the wall, dropped the gun. I grabbed it and tossed it into a drain.
Both down.
Checked them.
The first guy? Bad shape. Real bad. Bones shattered. Face a mess. Barely breathing.
I pulled out the **healing potion**. Low-tier. Barely magical.
Poured it into his mouth.
He twitched. Groaned.
Not a miracle. But he'd live.
Then I turned to the kid.
Tall. Pale. Shaking.
"Call an ambulance," I said. "Now. Or that guy dies."
He stared at me like I was a monster. "What the hell did you do?! They were just gonna rough me up—now you've *crippled* them!"
He looked like he wanted to puke.
"They were trying to *kill* you," I said.
He shook his head. "You don't get it. I'm not scared of them. I'm scared of **who's behind them**.
Then he bolted.
I was faster.
Two streets over, I caught him and pulled out something I'd almost forgotten I had:
> **Lasso of Persuasion**
> Compels anyone to obey your commands—so long as their willpower is lower than yours.
It wrapped around him like fog.
"What's your name?"
"…Killian."
"Who were those guys?"
"Street thugs. Small timers. They give quotas to kids like me to sell drugs. Work for some guy named Juarez."
"And Juarez?"
"Just another cog. There's more like him. Dozens. Every few blocks. They answer to people I've never seen.
Whoever tries to stop the flow—cops, politicians—they disappear.
The system replaces them like nothing happened."
Something heavy settled in my chest.
This wasn't just gang violence.
This... this is a whole *system*."
This was infrastructure.
"Call the ambulance," I said.
He nodded. Hollow-eyed.
---
I watched from a rooftop as the EMTs arrived and loaded the broken thugs into the back of a van. One cop scratched his head like he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
I stood above, masked. Silent. Gauntlet buzzing faintly in the dark.
> **Achievement Unlocked – Beat two armed low-level thugs (Unrepeatable)**
> **Reward: 10 Copper Tier Spins**
Wait—**unrepeatable?**
Didn't the system say that *beating a low-level thug* was already unrepeatable?
Apparently, *two* of them changes things.
System's logic is weird—but I'm not complaining.
---
Maybe it was me.
Maybe it was **Batroc's** instincts, sliding deeper into my reflexes.
Or maybe it was just the start of something bigger.
All I knew?
I was ready to fight.