Chapter 53: Lottery
Scar didn’t wait. He opened the box with a single command.
[Giftbox Opened!]
[You have received: +5 Stat Points, and Lottery Ticket x2]
[Alert! System Update: The Lottery function is now Available]
Scar frowned. He had been hoping for a massive payout of Shop Points to edge closer to purchasing the Talaria-X boots, but instead all he got was some stat points—which wasn’t entirely useless, and... lottery tickets?
Since when did Celestial Systems have lotteries?
Scar immediately dumped the five newly gotten stat points into Mastery to increase his chances of breaking past his limits when sprinting. But he left the remaining five points to distribute among his other stats later.
Lottery tickets, huh? he thought, looking at the two glowing, golden slips of digital paper hovering in his inventory. He didn’t open the new "Lottery" tab right away, he decided to check it out when he returned home.
The sun was getting low and he wanted to secure one more level before heading home.
So, he went deeper into the hunting grounds and kept hunting.
As the sun finally dipped below the horizon, he encountered a massive pack of ten E-rank Steelwolves in a clearing. Exhausted but relentless, Scar utilized every ounce of his remaining speed, systematically dismantling the pack in a bloody, high-speed skirmish.
As the final wolf dropped, the system’s light washed over him again.
[Exp: 1665/1200]
[Congratulations! You have Leveled Up!]
[Level 5 >> Level 6]
[+2 points have been added to all physical attributes]
[Hp: 500 >> 600]
[Stamina: 139 >> 149]
[Ep: 100 >> 120]
[You have received +5 Stat Points]
[Exp: 465/1800]
[6 mana cores have added to your inventory]
Fully satisfied, his stats bolstered and his inventory full of mana cores, Scar finally left the hunting grounds.
The sky was entirely dark when Scar stepped out of the hunting grounds. The streets were less crowded now, bathed in the glow of neon signs and streetlamps. Scar wanted to run again. He wanted to break his limit.
He leaned forward and exploded down the empty highway, funneling his newly increased stats entirely into his legs.
He blasted through the city. The speedometer climbed aggressively as he accelerated all the way to his top velocity.
[Speed Rate: 740 km/hr]
[Maximum Velocity Reached]
Scar pushed against his wind. The air resistance became a suffocating wall of friction. His vision began to tunnel, the edges bleeding into black as oxygen deprivation set in. The G-force tore at his muscles, but he refused to stop. He grit his teeth, forcing his biology to adapt to the sheer violence of the velocity. And after a while, he broke past his limit.
[Speed Rate: 750 km/hr]
[Speed Rate: 760 km/hr]
[Speed Rate: 770 km/hr]
Scar gasped for air as he ran. His heart fluttered dangerously. He was on the absolute verge of passing out. But he’d gotten what he wanted. He was elated.
But he’d was faced with an imminent danger.
The air resistance turned into a physical barrier of blistering heat. The friction began to tear at his clothes, and a terrifying red warning began to flash across his vision, screaming about impending cellular failure and oxygen deprivation. His heart hammered against his ribs like a caged animal.
Scar wasn’t fully satisfied with the boost he’d gotten, but he didn’t let the obsession blind him this time. He decided to stop before his body could fail. He eased off the acceleration, slowly tapering his speed down to a manageable cruising velocity, before coming to a smooth halt inside Arcadia Central Park, panting heavily, his boots smoking as he skidded across the pavement.
[Congratulations! You have gained +30 km/hr through sheer physical adaptation. Maximum Velocity Threshold has been Pushed]
[Top Speed: 740 >> 770 km/h]
Scar smiled, wiping sweat from his brow. He was getting closer to Mach 1 every single day. He collapsed onto a park bench, gasping for air. He sat there for a long time, watching the final, beautiful hues of the sunset bleed out of the sky. The sheer progression he had made in a single day was staggering. If he kept this up, he would become very powerful in no time. The quiet moment of reflection settled his racing heart, grounding him before he stood up and walked the final kilometer down the residential avenue back to the Glacier Palace.
The estate was quiet when Scar returned. He headed straight to his room. He showered, scrubbing the beast blood and sweat from his skin, and changed into a comfortable set of clothes. He headed down for a quick, massive dinner in the empty dining hall, eating fast before retreating immediately back to the sanctuary of his bedroom.
Scar locked his door, sat on the edge of his bed, and open the system interface. "Alright," he said to the empty room. "Let’s get to work."
First, he opened his inventory, converting the 34 mana cores he had harvested throughout the day, into shop points. And thanks to the D-Rank mana core he harvested from the Iron-Bristle Boar, his payout from the entire conversion was somewhat flattering.
[Trade Successful]
[380 Shop Points have been added to your account]
[Current Balance: 1,140 Shop Points]
Scar hummed. His Shop Points had steadily climbed, but he was still miles away from the amount required to purchase any of the items he wanted.
Next, he evenly allocated all ten of his stat points, assigning two points to each stat except Mastery.
——————
*Stamina: 151
*Strength: 44
*Agility: 39
*Durability: 76
*Perception: 62
——————
Scar couldn’t help but smirk as he glanced through his elevated stats. It’s only been a few days since he started utilizing the system, and he’d managed to accomplish quite a lot. His strength, durability, and perception were looking exceptionally impressive, significantly higher than what they were a few days ago. His stamina was also coming along fine, but he needed more. He wanted to have so much stamina that he would be able to run for hours without getting tired.
Then, he finally shifted to the newly unlocked tab:
"Miley, open the lottery," he ordered.
Instantly, a massive, ornate digital roulette wheel materialized in the center of the room. There were six distinct slots on the wheel. Five of the slots contained random items pulled directly from the system shop—weapons, skills, and consumables. While the sixth slot was an empty space.
Scar didn’t need to be told the rules to understand how to play. It was simple: If the wheel landed on an item, he would receive it entirely for free. But if landed on the empty space, he’d get nothing.
And to spin the wheel, he needed to expend one lottery ticket per roll.
"Okay," Scar said, taking a deep breath. "Let’s roll."
He mentally selected [Spin].
The digital wheel erupted into motion, the rapid clicking sound echoing in the quiet room as it spun at blinding speed. Scar watched intently as it began to decelerate. The ticker passed a skill, ticked past a health regeneration serum, and slowly... agonizingly... clicked to a dead stop right on the black slot.
[Oops! You missed! No Rewards Gotten. Better luck next time!]
Scar’s jaw tightened. "Are you kidding me?" He glared at the holographic wheel, a surge of irritation washing over him. "This thing is rigged. The prices in the regular shop are insanely high, and when I actually get a chance to bypass the paywall, the algorithm purposefully lands on the empty slot? How convenient."
[The game is not rigged] Miley’s voice chimed in his mind, sounding distinctly analytical but laced with amusement. [It is a randomly generated algorithm based entirely on the concept of luck. That’s why it’s called a "lottery", it’s a gamble. However, I advise you not to spin your second ticket immediately]
"Why not?" Scar asked.
[Look at the board. The current available items are mediocre. An E-rank dagger. A low-tier health serum. A cooking skill. Even if you win, the payout is practically worthless to you now. Use the refresh function at the bottom right. It costs 10 Shop Points to generate a completely new board of rewards]
Scar frowned, spotting the small refresh icon on the interface. He reluctantly paid the 10 SP to refresh the board.
The wheel flashed instantly, and the five mundane items dissolved, replaced by a completely new set of options. Scar’s eyes scanned the wheel, and his breath hitched at the sight of the new potential rewards: An A-Rank Mythic Class Spear, x50 Stamina Regeneration Serums, Advanced Firearm Mastery, A legendary Artifact said to originate from Asgard, and finally... sitting in the top slot, glowing with a magnificent, ethereal gold light, was a pair of sleek, gold boots.
The Talaria-X.
The legendary item that could grant a massive, multiplicative boost to his base velocity. It was right there, sitting on the wheel, waiting to be claimed.
"Okay," Scar breathed, his pulse quickening. "This is it."
He loaded his second, and final, Lottery Ticket and pressed [Spin].
The wheel blurred into motion. Scar didn’t blink. He watched the colors smear together, his hands clenching the edge of his mattress. He willed the wheel to stop with every ounce of focus he possessed.
Then, the clicking began to slow.
Tick. It passed the Mythic Spear.
Tick. It passed the Stamina Regeneration Serum.
Tick. It reached the empty space and lingered there for a while.
Scar’s heart sank, a heavy curse already forming on his lips—but the wheel groaned, possessing just a fraction of kinetic momentum left. Then—
Tick.
The ticker slipped off the empty space and settled flawlessly onto the glowing slot. The part where the golden boots sat.
[JACKPOT!]
[Congratulations! You have won the Talaria-X (Legendary Class)]
Scar shot up from the bed in an uncontrollable excitement, a laugh of pure, unrestrained elation escaping his lips. "Yes!"
In a flash of blinding light, the boots materialized on his bed. They were utterly beautiful—forged from an impossibly lightweight, dark gold alloy, with subtle, aerodynamic wing motifs carved into the ankles. They hummed with latent, concentrated kinetic energy, practically vibrating against the fabric of the bed.
The item that he desired the most, the gear that would have taken him months of relentless grinding to afford, was now his. And he’d gotten it for free. Just like that.
Scar picked up the boots, feeling the electric current tingling against his palms. His mind raced with the terrifying possibilities. If his base speed was now 770 km/h, equipping these boots would catapult him to heights he couldn’t even fully calculate yet.
He couldn’t wait to test them out.
He put the boots gently into his inventory and fell back onto his pillows, staring up at the ceiling with a dangerous, predatory smile.
Tomorrow, he was going to break the world.