《Loaded Dice》 Book 1 - Chapter 1 (Edited) Mars, originally a seventeen year old human boy from the ninety sixth earth. He was the last of a long line of dimensional travelers, his ancestors had discovered the ability to teleport between worlds harnessing the power of the first world''s dimensional axis. His family had disapeared when he was a small child however they left him all of the training manuals needed to travel through the multiverse, the primary teaching within these books was that one must not use the first worlds axis for more than three consecutive jumps, as doing so may warp you out of the firsts power-range. Once out of its range it he would unable for you to return to the original world, knowing this he decided he needed to at least try and find them even at the risk of losing his way back to the ninety sixth.. Mars closed the book, he decided it was time to leave this world and start his adventure of traveling through the multiverse - setting the book to the side, he stood up and began to stretch his stiff muscles. ¡°Man, I have been reading for hours I think I am ready to give this a shot¡± he said as he drew a magic circle in the air. The circle began to glow brightly distorting the air around it, humming with power until it finally expanded into a large silver portal. ¡°Wow I have drawn many sigils leading up to this but I never seen a sigil do this before¡± Mars reached his hand outwords gently touching the floating portal - With a loud popping sound Mars was sucked into the portal leaving his world behind... Mars found himself within a room of pure white looking around he could see nothing but emptiness. ¡°Where am I, what is this place?¡± he said to himself. ¡°Child, how is it that a mortal such as yourself was able to come into my realm¡± A voice was heard startling him. Mars turned around only to find a beautiful woman with long flowing blonde hair, golden eyes, she wore a black dress suit sitting behind an oaken desk. ¡°Who are you? What is this place?¡± He asked aloud this time. ¡°You seem to have entered my divine realm¡± You may call me Lady luck, who might you be?¡± She said to him rather curiously - He introduced himself to her. ¡°Now how did you enter my world?¡± Seemingly annoyed with him.. ¡°I can show you better than I can tell you¡± as he said with a smirk. He started to prepare another sigil within the air only for it to fizzle out, he tried once more.. Nothing. ¡°How could this be? Have I jumped outside the range of the first world''s axis?" ¡° Spacial magic¡­ It would seem that your magic no longer works, if you wish to regain it I have a proposal for you." With a snap of her fingers a single Dice appeared in front of Mars. He reached out and plucked it from the air. He held the Dice between his thumb and index finger, admiring the Dice as it glimmered with a blue and pink hue. ¡°I am playing a rather unconventional game with the other divine beings, it just so happens I am in need of a player.. if you finish my game, emerging victorious, you will receive the power you need to traverse the multiverse.¡± Waving her hand across the desktop it seemed to change from a once cleanly polished royal oak, to something that resembled a game board. "You must roll that Dice, it will select your class and trait.. you will then be prompted to select your character race, there will be other players in the game hosted by other divine beings, you must defeat them.." He looked across the game board, he could see different chess like pieces which resembled warriors, mages and even farmers... "Hmm, I have always been pretty good at video games. Let''s give it a go" Mars flicked the Dice onto the board, watching as the dice bounced a few times until it finally stopped on five, one of the board pieces began to glow and move about the table. A loud bell sounded throughout his headrang through Mars'' ears as an alert window popped up in front of him.
You have entered the game please select your Avatar
A semi-transparent screen was hovering in front of him, listing off thousands of races..You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°This is far too many for me to go through, I need to filter through these.¡± Almost as soon as the thought came to his mind, a second screen appeared in front of the race selection. Rubbing his chin in thought, he decided to cut down all non-humanoid races, so bye bye slimes and dragons.. ¡°I don''t want to end up full of scales or covered in fur either.¡± He selected the option to get rid of werewolves, lizardmen and Neko-boys. Having whittled down most races Mars found one that stood out to him, one that had physical prowess and good looks. The race had black horns which wrapped the sides of its head, glacial blue eyes, silver hair bound in a single thick braid running down his lithe back. ¡°I like how this race looks, strong, aggressive, beautiful¡± He made his decision, with that the same bell chimed within his mind once more and yet another status window appeared...
You have selected the Race
Ogre The Ogre race relies on pure power & Natural resistances, has high magical & physical resistance, low intellect, high strength
¡°Okay, let''s get started I am ready!¡± He said to Lady luck. As the words left his mouth the room began to warp and spin, that once brilliant white room started to blend with the colours of the desktop, it began to pull him into the game. ¡°Good luck child, try not to die..¡± he heard her say to him before finally there was nothing but darkness. With a puff of purple haze a man appeared beside Lady luck.. ¡°So you have found your player? A shame he rolled the gambler.. Didn''t the last gambler you choose die, how many more will die because of you?¡± The man laughed said with a laugh.. ¡°He will be different, he will win, I can¡¯t lose another¡­¡± She said with cruel sadness in her eyes, as she watched the playing board. Mars blinked and opened his eyes. He was laying in a wooded area looking up through the thick canopy of trees he could see a brilliant blue sky, two suns broke through the leaves shining into his eyes - he squinted. ¡°Ugh, what a crazy ride that was! Divine beings? A game? How the hell am I supposed to defeat others all I have is this Dice..¡± He pulled the Dice out and gave it a roll..
Failure: Roll 2; DEX down times 2 (3 Minutes)
Mars picked up the Dice, spinning it between his fingers. "So that''s how you work, is there more to this you tho? And what does this mean DEX down time times 2, Did I just receive a debuff from my own weapon?¡± He rolled the dice again. Nothing. ¡°So there seems to be a cool down to this weapon as well, is there a way to check my character sheet, like in video games back home?¡± As he thought of his own status another blue menu appeared hovering in front of him.
Name: Mars Health: 150 VIT 15 Effects: Health Pool
Level: 1 Mana: 30 STR 18 Effects: Physical Damage
Race: Ogre The Ogre race has high magical & physical resistance, low intellect, high strength. INT 3 Effects: Mana Pool
Class: Gambler A class that allows you to bet anything, a true gambler never fears a challenge; All stat points gained from leveling are directed into luck. DEX 6 (-4) 2 Effects: Mobility
LUC 5 Effects: Drop Rate
M.Res 10 Effects: Magical Damage is reduced
Weapon: Lucky Dice (Bound) A six sided Dice if you roll 1-3 buff the enemy times the value rolled; if you roll 4-6 buff yourself times the value rolled. (times base stats) P.Res 10 Effects: Physical Damage is reduced
Trait: Born Lucky Rolls favour you, based on your luck stat. (5%)
As Mars went over the character sheet in front of him he couldn''t help being shocked at the class he had received. ¡°Gambler, this class allows me to bet anything? That is quite interesting but what is this stat allocation.. This game is trying to kill me before I even get a chance! Thankfully I decided to go with a sturdy race like the Ogre¡± he was beginning to regret accepting Lady luck''s offer. *Gurgle* On top of all of this, he skipped lunch today to study so he was starving.. ¡°So much for that born luck trait¡± he said with a sigh.. Book 1 - Chapter 2 ¡°There must be something around here to eat, I should go a little deeper into these woods, maybe there will be some berries or fruit¡± He thought to himself, he ventured deeper into the forest in search of food. Walking a several minutes into the forest, he heard the shrill scream of a child. It sounded as if the child was being attacked, Mars began to sprint through the woods in the direction of that scream. Mars, broke through the wooded area into a small clearing and what he saw shook him to his very core.. In front of him lay the body of a human child, she had two Snail like creatures devouring her flesh, these snails had massive spiked shells, their antennae had rows of jagged teeth at the tips which they used to tear her small limbs from her body. Mars covered his mouth as he proceeded to vomit the bile that his stomach contained. ¡°S-SHIT, what the fuck! They are eating her?!¡± He said to himself. Realizing that he couldn''t save the child, Mars turned to run. However, the creatures had been alerted to his presence due to the contents of his stomach being expelled from his body. With a terrifying screech they used their antennae as whips, one of the antennae wrapped around his leg slamming him into the ground.
You have taken 75 Damage
Pulling its whip like tendrils back for the killing blow, Mars spit blood onto the floor and scrambled to the right as the antenna shattered a tree behind him - he pulled out his dice and threw them.
Success: Roll 6; P.Res down times 6 (3 Minutes)
The notification popped up, blocking his vision momentarily, he disregarded it rushing towards the nearest monster. It barrated his body with its whips, only to find it had little to no effect now.
You have taken 2 damage
You have taken 2 damage
You have taken 2 damage
The creature''s tentacle-like antennae shot towards Mars, this time he was ready, extending his arm so that the creature could pull him towards it, using the momentum from the best Mars cocked his fist back, letting it loose just as the beast opened it mouth to devour him. With his arm now lodged deep inside the monsters throat, he lifted the beast and proceed to slam him into its companion, shattering their shells. Blood and viscera splashed into his face, however he did not relent and continued his torrent of shell slamming until finally his buff wore off. He dropped to the floor, exhausted.
You have dealt massive damage to carnivorous snail''s
You have slain carnivorous snail
You have slain carnivorous snail
You are no longer buffed; All stats normal
You have leveled up
You have leveled up
¡°What the fuck is this world, and what the fuck were those monsters.¡± Wiping the sweat off his forehead. "I could have died from that.. Thankfully I had that Dice, CRAP the Dice.¡± He searched the floor until he spotted the Dice next to one of the dead beasts. ¡°Without you I¡¯d be dead.¡± He picked the dice up kissing it before returning it to his pocket. He made his way over to the mutilated corpse of the child, sitting next to the child he found a bloodied Aracne-plush.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Picking it up, he was instantly prompted by a singing bell yet again.
Quest Notification: Sara''s Aracneplush
Accept: Y/N
Reward: ???
¡°I need to complete this quest, for this child¡± he said with tear filled eyes. he accepted.
Quest Accepted: Sara''s Aracneplush Return Sara''s Aracneplush to her family and inform them of her death.
¡°First things first, I must put this Sara to rest. He proceeded to dig a shallow hole for her with a tree branch he snapped off ¡°shit this is hard, fucking slugs had to go and eat you.¡± He violently kicked one of the Snails corpses *Gurgle* Now that the adrenaline has subsided his hunger has returned¡­ ¡°sigh¡±. With that Mars began combing his way through the forest, until finally he broke out into a path - he followed this path for what felt like eternity, starving.. Exhausted he just continued to walk while trying to take his mind off of the hunger he opened up his character sheet to see what all of those notifications were.
Name: Mars Health: 150 VIT 15 Effects: Health Pool
Level: 3 Mana: 30 STR 18 Effects: Physical Damage
Race: Ogre The Ogre race has high magical & physical resistance, low intelect, high strength. INT 3 Effects: Mana Pool
Class: Gambler A class that allows you to bet anything, a true gambler never fears a challenge; All stat points gained from leveling directed into luck. DEX 6 Effects: Mobility
LUC 23 Effects: Drop Rate
M.Res 10 Effects: Magical Damage is reduced
Weapon: Lucky Dice (Bound) A six sided Dice if you roll 1-3 buff the enemy times the value rolled; if you roll 4-6 buff yourself times the value rolled. (times base stats) P.Res 10 Effects: Physical Damage is reduced
Trait: Born Lucky Rolls favour you, based on your luck stat. (23%)
¡°¡°So all of my stats actually went straight into luck, my chance at getting a beneficial roll also increased from 5% to 23%." "That buff was actually insane I should have been dead, however with this increase it will make things a lot easier for me in the future¡­" "the shitty thing is that I have no skills, if this were to be like one of those games we play in my world I should have at least one skill¡± Mars said while allowing the Dice to dance over his fingers as he walked along the dirt path. ¡°Gambler, a class that allows you to bet anything. How did I end up in a game with a non-combat class¡± This class seemed completely useless. Finally the path lead him to a larger road, this road had horse drawn carriages however instead of horses it had large birds which resemble Emus however these birds had metallic beaks, and vibrant plumage some purple and some blue he assume that these where how you could tell the difference in sex. ¡°Excuse me sir, but would there happen to be a town nearby?¡± Shouting out to one of the slowly passing gentlemen on a cart ¡°Oi you must be a noob, how aint you know that Mudruk town is up ahead.¡± The old man said as he spit some of his backy onto the floor. ¡°I am new actually, what is Mudruk? And how do I get there.¡± He said with a tinge of embarrassment to his voice. ¡°Mudruk is where we go to trade goods and unwind a bit, you can find a bit of everything there¡­ hop up on back. I am heading there now! Bean¡¯s mi¡¯name Im a lumberjack going there to drop off some lumber ¡± said the old geezer ¡°Ugh sure thanks Bean I¡¯d love the lift.¡± Mars jumped up into the back of the cart and simply watched the ongoings of the people outside as they made their way to Mudruk. Book 1 - Chapter 3 Mars sat in the back of the carriage practicing his rolls it seemed as though every roll under 3 would give him a cool down of roughly 30 seconds and whenever he managed to roll above 3 he would receive a buff of his choosing for 3 minutes and a cool down of 5 minutes. ¡°hmm.. It must have been my desire not to be harmed by the monster that gave me the P.res buff, so that must mean that when I roll negatively it will buff the enemy with whatever stat I am trying to buff myself with¡± He said while rubbing his chin in deep thought ¡°Oi Mars you have been chucking those dice for quite awhile ya fancy yourself a gamblin man? If so when we get to Mudruk you should head on over ta the Wilted Walrus if ye have the coin that is¡± Old Bean gave him a toothy grin and clacked the reigns of Hobchicks (Mars came to find out that this was what they called the birds) ¡°Sadly Bean I am a little short on coin at the moment as I just started out¡± he said looking out to the field littered with crimson coloured lavender they held the scent of fresh raspberries ¡°Ye should also visit a tailor you look a bit worse for wear if ye ask me, dontcha worry kiddo if ye help me unload my cargo I will pay ye for the labour.¡± Old Bean said cheerfully. ¡°Sounds like a deal to me Bean.¡± Mars pulled out the Aracneplush thinking back to the horrible horrible scene ¡°I also have to figure out the next step to this quest. ¡°Bean, have you ever seen this plush around Mudruk? it belonged to a little girl named Sara I need to find her parents¡± Bean looked over at the plush and shook his head. ¡°I aint seen it nor heard of the child, however if it''s information you be wanting you can find that at the Wilted Walrus as well.¡± ¡°Seems like everything is leading me to this Walrus place¡± Mars chuckled. They travelled like this for quite some time before arriving at a large gate with two armed sentries at the front. ¡°Halt state your business at Mudruk.¡± the first guard said as he approached Old Bean. ¡°Just here ta drop a shipment off ta the carpenters guild here''s me city pass, that one over there is my worker.. These old bones struggle to lift the lumber nowadays.¡± Old bean spit on the ground as he handed the guard the pass. Mars couldn''t help but notice that the guards wore matching chainmail armor with a crest formed on their right breast showing a hammer and a feather. He''d have to ask Old Bean about that later. ¡°They''re good let¡¯m through.¡± the guard yelled out as he thumped the side of the carriage twice. The carriage travelled through the open street passing by stalls where merchant peddled their goods, the smell of savoury treats brought his mouth to water he caught himself before he started to drool. ¡°Damn I am hungry.¡± He said to himself. To get his mind off the food he looked at the architecture, the housing was made from mud hence the name Mudruk. He wondered how they could build such tall structures with mud.. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°Oi Oi Kiddo, we are here.¡± Old Bean hopped off the wagon, disappearing into the Large Mud hut. He returned shortly with a stable hand. ¡°Lad, follow Beck he will lead you to the unload site at the rear. When you''re finished unloading the cargo meet me at the Walrus for a drink and some Mudkip pie!"
Quest Notification: Unload Beans Wagon
Accept: Y/N
Reward: 1 Gold
Mars quickly accepted the quest from Old Bean and waved him off, Following Beck to the back to begin his job ¡°Never thought I would be coming to a new world to do manual labour¡­ Sigh I guess it can¡¯t be helped I am a noob after all¡± he shrugged his shoulders ¡°So you¡¯re Mars eh? Large logs on the right small logs on the left! If you have trouble come and find me I will be inside¡± Beck said as he walked a way with his head down and hands in his pockets ¡°Okay let''s try this out¡± Mars took out his Dice and rolled... ¡°FUCK, it even buffs inanimate objects! Now I have to wait 30 seconds¡± Mars waited 30 seconds and tried again..
Failure you have rolled a 3; Logs become 3 Times heavier
This went on for some time until finally a different prompt appeared...
Skill Acquired: Rigged
Changes results to your favour (10Min Cooldown)
¡°Seems I have received an overpowered skill¡­ Might as well give it a shot¡± Mars cast the skill on the logs
Rigged: All Enemy buffs turn to debuffs
As the skill was cast the logs lost all of their weight and began floating into the sky. ¡°Crap, this skill works too well!¡± He jumped onto the logs to hold them down and yelled for beck to come and help. ¡°WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?!¡± Yelled the stable boy as he ran towards Mars Grabbing a nearby rope and tossing it to Mars ¡°Here grab this and loop it around the other side¡± Beck quickly tied one end to the nearest post, and rushed for the other end, having reaching the other rope beck began reeling the logs downwards towards the rest of the stacked logs. As he was doing so the debuff disappeared and the logs smashed down into the others causing a huge mess. - Beck reached his hand out to help Mars up. ¡°Thanks Beck I was trying a new skill, I had learned and it backfired on me." "I will think twice before using it again.¡± He said with his head held low ¡°No worries we got the job done and damn was that entertaining.¡± Beck slapped him on the back, laughing heartily.
Quest Completed
Reward: 1 Gold
A single gold coin popped into existence right in front of his fast and floated there spinning until he reached out and plucked it from the air¡­ ¡°Wow so that''s how quest rewards are given out, I was wondering if Old Bean was going to forget about paying me. I think it''s time I head over to the Walrus and grab a bite to eat, I am starving!¡± Book 1 - Chapter 4 Mars waved goodbye to Beck and walked out into the street to make his way towards the Walrus, he had no idea where this place was so he decided to explore the town a little and ask some questions regarding Sara''s quest. The street were full of people enjoying the beautiful afternoon it must have been about 26C without a cloud in the sky, he noted some stalls were selling shaved ice however the que was far too long to wait and Mars was far too impatient to wait at the moment. To the left was a storesign with the image of a book and quill he decided to stop inside this store. "Maybe he could find some clues to his quest here." He placed his right hand on the door and pressed it open, a light bell chimed from the door alerting the patroness to his presence. ¡°Hello, Welcome to Celia''s skillhouse we buy and sell¡­ ah the new player skill books are to the left..¡± Celia said as she eyed Mars up and down taking note of his haggard appearance Mars went to the shelf to the left to take a look at some of the skill books she had on display, It reminded him of a convenience store magazine rack, he reached out and picked up the first skill-book which was the¡­ ¡°Ah you''ve picked up the appraisal book, many new players pick that one up thinking they will strike it rich off of the loot found in dungeons - that costs 80 Silver.¡± She plucked the book out of his hands and placed it back on the shelf. ¡°Oh.. no that is fine I do not have to much coin right now, however I do need some information regarding this.¡± He pulled out the Spider plush doll - passing it towards Celia. ¡°This doll belonged to a child I found in the Woods. She had two snail monsters¡­. Eating her I ended up killing them, however she was dead before I got to them." "This doll was all that was salvageable, from her remains.¡± He said with a sad glint in his eye. Celia took the doll from Mars looked it up and down before tossing it back to him. ¡°Check the orphanage three streets over, ask for Roger he runs the place he may have more information for you.¡± ¡°Thank you, I¡¯ll be on my way now.. Oh do you happen to know which direction the Wilted Walrus is?¡± He needed food and he wanted to meet up with Old Bean ¡°Yeah you can get there if you head west from here, the orphanage is on the way there you can¡¯t miss it¡± She said waving him off Mars exited the skillshop he headed west for three streets until he came to a building which had a tall tree, the tree had a rope with a large ball at the end of it - two youths took turns wacking the wall to one another.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. As he walked past the children one of the boys yelled out. ¡°Hey mister whatcha doin here? Looking for an apprentice? I am as strong as a dragon.¡± The kid flexed his arms and roared loudly. ¡°Now boys, is that any way to greet a new guest to our home?¡± The man with glasses said with a kind yet stern voice ¡°Hello, I am looking for a man named Roger. Would that be you?¡± he asked the man with glasses. ¡°Yes, I am Roger, how can I help you?¡± Roger said rather curiously. ¡°Ah Celia sent me over here regarding this.¡± Mars withdrew the Aracneplush and showed Roger¡­ ¡°T-this is Sara¡¯s w-here did you find this?! Where is she? How do you have it?¡± Roger stumpled a series of questions towards Mars Mars then calmly explained to Roger the situation in how he obtained this item.. ¡°Where did you bury her? If I showed you a map would you be able to point out her location on it?¡± Roger asked with tears in his eyes. ¡°yes I believe I would be able to do that.¡± Mars said as Roger rushed inside to collect the map, as he returned with it and a pen, Mars drew the position of the burial site for Roger.
Quest Completed
Reward: Aracne-familiar
With a popping sound an adorable spider floated in the air just in front of his face, coloured with a light tinge of blue other than that it was nearly transparent, it reminded him of a ghost of sorts as it was just floating there, he reached out and gently touched its head. The creature started to spin rapidly with excitement before spitting a string of blue web into his face...
You have aqcuired a familiar Name her?
Y/N
¡°Hm I will name you Nowi, but please keep those webs for strangers¡± he laughed as he pet Nowi on her head. ¡°I wonder what you can do Nowi, let''s take a look¡± Mars pulled up Nowi''s Summary.
Name: Nowi Race: Arachne(Bound) A subspace pocket dimension cappable of storing items; as well as collecting them (1/10) Lucky Dice (Bound)
¡°Well aren''t you convenient, how do I get my Dice out of you tho?¡± Mars simply thought of the Dice and it appeared right in front of him ready for use. He then thought of them being stored and they disappeared back into Nowi, she floated and danced around his head as he sat there smiling. Standing up he stretched, and started to walk in the direction of the Walrus as it started to get dark he took notice of how Nowi glowed slightly in the night giving her an eerie glow¡­ He finally found his way to the Walrus and Celia wasn''t kidding when she said he wouldn''t miss it. The place was actually a giant Walrus head with a massive crown on behind it which lit up with fireworks and cheers of a crowd the front of the building had two massive tusks a massive tongue that would slap open every time somebody came by to enter the place. Thinking nothing of it, he walked right up to it and as he approached it the tongue slapped down as it had for the previous person - He stepped on the tongue and was pulled inside... Book 1 - Chapter 5 Mars slid down the tongue until he hit the floor and tumbled head over heels onto the floor. ¡°Ugh¡­ ¡°What kind of stupid ass entrance was that¡± Standing up he dusted his already ragged clothes off and noticed Nowi Mimicing his fall in the air in front of him while gigling to herself. ¡°Ha.. Ha.. Ha.. find that funny eh, Nowi.¡± He grabbed at her as she danced away from his grip chirping with laughter. ¡°Damn having only 6 DEX sucks I can''t even catch Nowi¡± he shook his head with self loathing. looking around, he could see that this place was different from the outside almost as if it was operating in it''s own subspace or pocket dimension. It had bright pink and blue pixies floating around, wearing maid outfits. Bringing sparkling neon drinks to the people sitting at the tables. ¡°How am I to find Old Bean in all of this¡± he said to himself as he walked over to the bar. Tending the bar was a beautiful female she had bright red hair, glowing green eyes which shone like emeralds. What really caught his attention wasn''t her eyes, hair, or her abnormally large bust. It was her legs¡­Or rather, her lack thereof. In place of what should be her legs, were eight slithering tentacles wiping back and forth mixing cocktail, after cocktail, tossing them over to the incoming fairies and patrons at the bar. ¡°Oi Brat, Having a looky at Scarlet eh¡± Old Bean slapped him in the back and laughed heartily. Mars smiled as Nowi shot Old bean in the face with her Neon blue web. ¡°Aghh What this be kiddo, when did ye get a pet?¡± Old bean said as he spat onto the floor. ¡°She was from the quest item I showed you on our way in, seems like killing those snails benefited me a lot more than I thought they would have¡± Mars chuckled. ¡°Geezer, what''s good to eat here I am starving¡­ All I have had to eat since coming here has been a few berries.¡± Rubbing his belly as he pretended to faint onto the bar. ¡°Oi Scarlet two Mudkip pies for the lad and I.. Oh and two Horns a ale¡± He tossed he a single gold coin ¡°Keep the change.¡° Giving her a flirtatious wink. Scarlet caught the coin with one of her many tentacles, brought the coin to her lips and bit down on it. ¡°Wasn''t planning on giving you change Beany, you still owe me from last time!¡± She said as she tossed the coin into her pouch and repeated their order to one of the floating pixies nearby.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°Bahh¡­ kid if ya feel like gamblin ya have yer pick from slot machines, roulette, cards or if yer feeling really lucky you can take your chance on the bouts those are always a sight ta see even if ye lose¡± Old bean pointed to each station. Waiting for their food to arrive from one of the neon pixies, Mars looked around at all the different gambling options.. ¡°I will have to take a look at them after I eat¡± he thought to himself. As he was thinking two fairies flew over one was bright green holding their drinks and one bright orange holding two steaming pies. ¡°Finally I can eat something with sustenance to it!¡± He slapped his lips as he reached for a fork he had no time to admire its golden flaky crust or the gooey chunks of flesh within, he ate until there was nothing left. Reaching for the horn of ale he noted a scent of cinnamon and apple just before chugging the drink back. *BEEEELCH* He rubbed his belly with satisfaction - Nowi floated next to him trying to catch the pixies with little to no success. ¡°Ahh.. Bean that was delicious thanks for the meal!¡± He noted that the old man was still eating his pie. ¡°Mmm don''t mention it, why don''t you go find a game ta play, I will find ye when i''m done.¡± Old Bean said with a wave of his hand. Mars set off to the many different stands he saw some people tossing dice however the game looked too confusing for him the card tables were full as well so he made his way over to the simple slot machines. ¡°These look pretty easy, what do you think Nowi?¡± he said to the spider. She chirped happily to him however she flew off into the rear of the slot machines, he decided to follow her - He stood in front of a giant frog looking machine which had its tongue out ready for you to pull it above its head was a massive screen. ¡°This is the one you want to play?¡± She spun upside down and sprayed her web into the air. ¡°Hmm okay let''s see if this works" He placed his single gold coin into the frogs mouth and activated his skill before pulling the tongue.
Rigged: for the next 60 seconds all outcomes favour you
His mouth dropped as he read the skill window, he then looked up at the frog''s eyes as not one, not two, not three but four skill books with a question mark on each of them appeared. The machine chimed and rang for all to hear then the frog''s stomach began to grow and it spat out a single skill book right into Mars¡¯ face, he fumbled it a few times until finally catching it. He opened the skill book and immediately was prompted with a new skill window¡­
Received skillbook: Item Duplication
Learn skill: Y/N
He quickly decided yes.
Skill Acquired: Item Duplication
Duplicates one Bound Item based on Luck; Stage 1 1/3 Stage 2 Unlocked at Luck 50
¡°Wow rigged seems a bit broken, all I have to do is wait here for ten minutes and redo this same process and I will be rich or a walking skillbook shop¡± Mars said to himself. After looking at the skill window he was even more shocked. ¡°does this mean that if I duplicate my Dice, I can buff a single stat by up to eighteen or even three seperate stats by up to six?!¡± his mind began to work in overdrive, as he started to theorycraft all the different scenarios. As he was in mid theorycraft, he heard Nowi screeching as guards came and cracked him in the head with a billy club knocking him unconscious... Book 1 - Chapter 6 Mars slipped in and out of consciousness, he saw Old Bean taking a bag of of what looked like coins from a overweight woman covered in jewels. ¡°This one ended up hitting the jackpot with that skill of his, you are lucky it was only a crafting skill he received or you would be heading to the same place he is Bean¡± She said as she handed Bean the bag of coins. ¡°My apologies mistress, if I¡¯d known he had such a skill I would have knocked him out myself..¡± Old Bean bowed and turned away from the woman. ¡°Take this one to the ludus, he will make fine sport for the arena¡± She said to the guard holding Mars over his shoulder, this guard was fitted in similar attire to the guards at the front gate however the emblem emblazoned on his chest was that of a coin and tusk. ¡°As you command mistress¡± He said with a bow. Mars was roughly tossed into one of the cells in the ludus forcing him to wake. ¡°Ah fuck that hurt you bastard, let me out of here I did nothing wrong!¡± Yelling towards the guard, to no avail the guard just laughed at him and slammed the cell door shut. Mars looked around the cell and found it was bare, aside from the hole in the ground where he could relieve himself. Three stone walls surrounded him, with a small barred window to the rear, out of rage at being so stupid as to trust a complete stranger he kicked the cell door. However this door was reinforced and his kick did nothing.. Seeing that it was of no use Mars sat down in the corner of the cell. ¡°That Old fucker, just wait until I get out of here I will beat the living shit out of him.¡± The cute little spider floated in through the barred window and landed on his lap. ¡°At Least I have you Nowi¡± he rubbed her head as nestled into him for the night. With a thought brought out his dice. ¡°seems like I have access to your storage here, might as well give that skill a shot¡± He lifted the dice up and activated the skill.
Item Duplication: Based on current Level & Luck you may duplicate this item twice, Proceed?
Y/N
He watched as his golden dice began to spin, spin so fast that it began to hover and vibrate just above his palm until suddenly it broke off into two dice which then repeated this process once more until finally 3 dice floated softly to his palm clinching the dice he threw a hammer fist into the wall behind him, causing a slight fissure to appear. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Good with this I may be able to escape¡­ If only my dimensional magic worked I would jump out of here without an issue" He laid his head back, exhausted. Shutting his eyes he fell asleep thinking of ways he would harm Bean. Mars awoke to sheer pain as he was violently kicked in his stomach by another guard. "Get up you useless shit, it''s time to see what you are made of.. By the looks of you, you ''d be a good houseboy" Mars wretched onto the floor and slowly got to his feet. ¡°What do you mean, what I am made of? What''s a houseboy?¡± He asked through gritted teeth, still holding his bruise ribs. ¡°You''ll find out soon enough let''s go¡± the guard said as he grabbed Mars by the arm shoving him forward. He was directed passed cell after cell, Finally they came to a courtyard where he saw half naked men and women rippled with muscle, engaged in hand to hand combat. He watched as a man shot in for a take down, only to be met by a vicious knee. Snapping his head back, sending teeth, blood and spittle over the coarse sand, the man lay on the ground, gurgling on his own blood. The other man stood above him, raising his leg to send a shooting heel right into his chest! The sound of a whip cracked the air, sounding the end of the bout, A tall muscular man stood there holding a whip in hand, outfitted in leather warrior''s garb. ¡°Recruits line! This sand beneath your feet is the sand that will forge your path.. You will not fear death, you will embrace death! You will caress it!, make love to it! As you will become GLADIATORS!¡± He cracked his whip. The men beside Mars yelled in unison. ¡°YES DOCTORE.¡± slamming their fists into their chests with a grunt. ¡°Death is all that awaits you, but you choose how you die, blade in hand or snivelling and crying, like the little teet suckling babes you came into this world as! So I say to you, who amongst you wishes to die with honor.¡± He drew his blade held it high into the air. ¡°DOCTORE, DOCTORE, DOCTORE.¡± the men began to chant his name. With the crack of his whip he silenced them. ¡°So we have some fresh blood here.¡± The guards shoved both Mars, as well as the dark skinned youth, who was roughly two heads taller than him forward. ¡°Yes Doctore, this one was caught cheating in the Lanistas Casino." He ripped Mars shirt off so that he stood there bare chested for all to see - Mars was lean and lithe thanks to his racial features, however compared to the boy beside him he looked almost childlike¡­ "This one was caught trying to molest the tanner''s daughter, he was once the black smiths apprentice." Ripping the youths top off everyone could clearly see who has the muscular advantage here. ¡°You have two choices, One you fight each other to the death for the honor to train here on this sacred sand forged by tears of blood, two, you will sold into slavery and more then likely become some aristocrates house boy, where you will feast on his cock until he finds something more entertaining and kills you¡­ the choice is yours¡± Doctore tossed his sword onto the sand, between the two boys. They both looked at each other, Than back to the blade a few times before the dark boy kicked Mars in the chest making a dive for the blade.. Book 1 - Chapter 7 Mars received the boy''s kick and was sent stumbling backwards into the dirt, the gladiators watching laughed at this spectacle! ¡°Ha tonights rations on the dark boy.¡± one of the of the men said to the others. ¡°I¡¯d have to be a fool to take such a bet¡± At that moment the dark skinned boy picked up the blade he turned to face Mars. ¡°No hard feelings kid, but I ain¡¯t dying in this shit hole.¡± Rushing towards the still downed Mars swinging the blade downwards, Mars scrambled to the left he could hear the blade whizz by his head as it plunged into the dirt. Getting to his feet Mars took a handful of sand taking advantage of the boy missing him, he flung the dirt into the boys eyes, dove forwards, much like the initial man he watched get his teeth bashed in earlier. ¡±Aghh my eyes!¡± The boy as he began to swing the blade violently just as Mars was closing in, he felt the bite of cold steel cut into his chest¡­ Stumbling backwards once more, Mars clutched the wound with his right hand, looking down he found a shallow slit running horizontally across his chest, blood was seeping from the wound coating his abdomen in the hot sticky liquid!
You have taken 15 Damage
You have suffered Bleeding effect
-5HP 10 Seconds
The boy was swinging the weapon back and forth,not able to see as the sand was burnin his eyes. Mars took this as a chance to pull out his Dice he quickly rolled them. ¡°I need to Buff my Health, Strength and P.RES.¡± They hit the hard hot sand they bounced afew times before settling.
Failure you have rolled a 3
Failure you have rolled a 3
Failure you have rolled a 3
You have successfully Buffed your enemies Health, Strength and P.res Times 3
Mars didnt receive a single buff from all three of his Dice, however this gambler still had one more trick up his sleeve, he quickly cast his skill!
Rigged: All Enemy buffs become debuffs for 3 minutes
The effects of the Dice were instantaneous, the dark skinned boy almost toppled over at the weight of the sword, letting it crash to the floor. he tried for the sword one more time, with no success. ¡°W-What have you done to me, no.. NO STAY AWAY¡± He was after all just a boy like Mars, so the panic started to kick in - reaching the crowd of gladiators they pushed him back into the arena of sand, just as Mars was getting to him. ¡°Oi You see this wound you gave me? How about I return the favour¡± Mars with his blood soaked hand, delivered a slap to the side of his face causing him to fall to the ground ¡°You were going to fucking kill me!¡± Mars stomped on the boys extended leg forcefully. Due to the weakened stats, his tibia snapped. As the bone pierced through his flesh he let lose a scream filled with pain and terror... ¡°You almost got me, didn''t you?¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Mars grabbed the boy by his hair pulling his head back so he could look him in the eyes. ¡°The key word there was almost!¡± Mars slammed the youths head into the sand once, twice, on the third time his hand went through the back of the boy''s skull into the soft gooey grey matter within¡­ he retched at the stench of death. With another crack of the whip Doctore signaled the end of the match. ¡°Well done boy, you do know how to keep us entertained! The arena awaits you and be sure to please the crowd!¡± He praised Mars for slaughtering this cattle.
You have slain an enemy
You have gained a Level
You have gained a Level
¡°Guards feed him and fit him, he will begin his training tomorrow he earned the day¡± he called to the guard that brought him in. The guard lead him to the mess hall, the hall contained ten tables and a que of people waiting to be served by a oversized Hog-man. ¡°Hey Hamlet, this is the new recruit he just overcame trial by blood, be sure to give him your five star cuisine!¡± The guard laughed as he said it. Hamlet spit on the floor, picked up his ladle and filled a bowl of gruel for Mars. ¡°Oh, I almost forgot here, you earned a piece of bread with your meal today!¡± Hamlet tossed Mars the stale loaf of bread. ¡°Five star service indeed¡± Mars said under his breath. Finding an empty table he sat down, dipped his stale bread into the gruel and took a bite.. Nowi was crawling on his chest trying to stitch up his wound with her web, but the translucent web had no effect only time would heal it, as he took another bite of the stale bread he decided to take a look at his new status window he ended up gaining two levels from killing that dark skinned boy
Name: Mars Health: 150 VIT 15 Effects: Health Pool
Level: 1 Mana: 30 STR 18 Effects: Physical Damage
Race: Ogre The Ogre race has high magical & physical resistance, low intellect, high strength. INT 3 Effects: Mana Pool
Class: Gambler A class that allows you to bet anything, a true gambler never fears a challenge; All stat points gained from leveling are directed into luck. DEX 6 Effects: Mobility
LUC 44 Effects: Drop Rate
M.Res 10 Effects: Magical Damage is reduced
Weapon: Lucky Dice (Bound) A six sided Dice if you roll 1-3 buff the enemy times the value rolled; if you roll 4-6 buff yourself times the value rolled. (times base stats) P.Res 10 Effects: Physical Damage is reduced
Trait: Born Lucky Rolls favour you, based on your luck stat. (44%)
¡°Wow my luck stat jumped quite a bit from that battle, I am almost at the next stage for Item duplication already¡­" "However without that power up. my other stats are pretty low. If that was a stronger opponent, he would killed me for sure! I really need to figure out a way around this weakness.¡± With that Mars finished his five star meal and headed towards the guard. ¡°Oh finished already? Lets go and get you fitted.¡± Leading Mars down a dimly lit hall, down a few sets of stairs and into a room with a massive pearl in its center held between onyx dragon stone. ¡°Magister Morgan, we have a new recruit that needs to be fitted¡± he called out to the open room. Looking around the room, the walls spiraled upwards, they were littered with what seemed to be skill books, the room had no ceiling however it had a singular moon which blocked out the sky and gave the room a ominios glow. ¡°Ah, would I assume you need me to measure this recruits aptitude, and provide you with the usual starter set?¡± Morgan said as he appeared to float down from that hovering moon above¡­ ¡°You know exactly what the Doctore wants Morgan, just get the job done he starts his training tomorrow, we need him somewhat battle ready so that he doesn''t die during basic training. i''ll leave him with you for now, summon me when you are finished¡± the guard said with an uncaring smirk as he left the room. ¡°Come child, let me gauge your battle aptitude, this will allow me to provide you with optimal starter set for your class and race." He waved his hand towards the pedestal, urging Mars to place his hand on the pearl. Book 1 - Chapter 8 Mars shrugged, taking a step towards the pearl. ¡° Can''t get any worse than a one on one fight to the death, now can it Nowi?" He said to the floating spider. Nowi chirped vibrantly, as if it was the most idiodic thing he could have said, the spider began to sling her web all around him forming a luminescent web of protection, finally satisfied with her work she skittered through the air and nestled in between his horns. ¡±Thank you Nowi, if only your webs could really protect me, I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about a thing.¡± Mars reached up and gently tickled her beneath her pincers. Standing in front of the pearl, he looked to Morgan the man stood there with his hands clasped, wearing a violet cowl, the man must have been mid to late forties with a salt and pepper five o¡¯clock shadow and deep set eyes. ¡°Place your hand on the pearl, we don''t have all day.¡± Morgan pressed him to continue. Reaching his hand forward, the pearl began to shimmer sending a dull beam of light to the hovering moon above. Once the light touched the surface of the moon it broke apart into tiny particles of light, which simulated a holographic status window. ¡°Hmm, below average stats for one of the Ogre race, which seems to be caused by your non-combative class, what a peculiar combination." "You seem to have a spatial-storage familiar as well?" "As far as skills go you are pretty useless, one''s cool down is far to long and the other is simply a crafting skill.. It also seems you cannot learn any weapon skill books due to your bound weapon¡± Morgan was in deep thought, talking to himself. ¡°You are a rather curious case, but I believe I have figured out the best approach¡± He floated upwards tapping a few books here and there as he did so they began to glow an follow him around the room, after several minutes he found his way back to the ground. ¡°Mars I believe your name is, here are a few skill books that may be of use to you.¡± He said as the books floated towards Mars. ¡°Why would you give me these, are they not expensive?¡± Mars couldn''t grasp why he would give him skill books, since he was going to be a slave of the arena¡­ ¡°What if I die, in a fight?¡± he asked Morgan to which he responded. ¡°Even in your death, you will be worth more coin to the lanista then a few skill books. If you were to die tomorrow then you would become one of my experiments¡± Morgan smiled with a grin that shook Mars to his core.
Skill Aquired: Shoot boxing; Grants the user knowledge of hand to hand combat. (Passive)
Skill Aquired: Grappling; Grants the user knowledge of ground combat. (Passive)
Skill Aquired: Spectral throw; Autonomously returns the weapon if thrown. (Passive)
¡°You have the skills necessary for the ludus, Not being proficient with any weapons you will more than likely end up becoming a Cestus, a gladiator without weapons¡± Morgan said with a cool grin.Stolen story; please report. Snapping his fingers a loin cloth, leather boots and some kind of black skirt made from scales, appeared from what Mars would assume a Spatial storage device of some sorts. ¡±These will be your daily training equipment, change into them while I summon the guard.¡± He said as he walked out of the room. As he left the room, all of the skill books flew to the top of the room and slowly floated in a circular motion. ¡°It looks like he does care about the cost of those books eh Nowi¡­¡± She jumped from his head and skittering through the air towards the nearest floating book, she chirped a few times then shot a web towards the book trying to pull it to Mars - He laughed at the spectacle, as he changed into the training outfit. ¡°One day your webs will work, until then come back to me¡± He called to her as the doors to the room opened up showing Morgan and the Oaf of a guard walking towards him. ¡°Look at you, now you look like a gladiator, tomorrow you train like one.¡± Morgan said aloud ¡°We will see how he does against trained warriors, not some molestor. Lets go¡± chimed the guard. Following the guard back to his cell, he looked over his new skills and was quite happy with them. ¡°Now at least I can defend myself, instead of just bashing things together like some kind of brute¡± he said to Nowi She made a ball out of her web and started to mimic Mars bashing stuff. ¡°Chirp chirp¡± She said, as she spun down to his shoulder and nuzzled into his neck. ¡°Get in, we begin at first light. So get some early shut eye.¡± The guard said slamming the door before he walked way. Mars however, was not tired at all and decided to practice some of his shoot boxing, at first he started slow with a few punches and kicks towards his shadow. He began adding in head movement, slipping left and right comboing the slips with elbows and knees, he began to work up quite the sweat. All the while Nowi had spun a web like dummy in the shape of a human hitting it with her palps, soft tapping noises could be heard as she struck the web. ¡°Look at you go Nowi, crush that web.¡± He laughed at his familiar, without her he would probably go insane in here. He cleaned off the sweat from his body with the rag that would be his blanket, sat down and took out his Dice.. ¡°Lets see here it was called Spectral throw? I wonder how it would work with my Dice?¡± Mars pulled out his Dice and tossed them as he did they bounced on the floor a few times.
Success: Roll 4, DEX up Times 4 (3 Minutes)
Failure: Roll 3, DEX down Times 3 (3 Minutes)
Success: Roll 5, Dex up times 5 (3 Minuts)
As the notifications popped up, the Dice shot back towards him hovering around his body - Nowi shot her web and sucked them back into her spatial domain. ¡°oh wow that is handy, now I won''t have to go searching for my dice every time I throw them..¡± He said to the little blue spider. Mars decided it was time to get some sleep so that he would be ready for whatever hellish training the Doctore had planned for him - he pulled Nowi into a hug and fell asleep with her. Book 1 - Chapter 9 The following morning, Mars woke to the sound of the guards rattling the cell doors with their blades. ¡°Up and at''em, it¡¯s time to earn your morning meals.¡± The guard opened his cell, the steel door rattled against the wall. Mars was ushered into a militant line and forced to run, after running for what felt like ten kilometers, they began drill work on wooden dummies. - Looking around Mars noted some of his fellow recruits had wooden training weapons, while others were separated from the group. These recruits were led to a seperate training field. Here they cast magical spells, he saw fire balls, ice lances and what really stood out to him was a tall elven looking boy no older than he was, this boy was summoning golems that would fight for him as he would stay in the back safe and sound. ¡°Why couldn''t I have magic like that, instead of stuck with this stupid luck base class.¡± He heard the crack of a whip, feeling red hot pain surge through his back he fell to the floor, the sound repeated as did the same pain.
You have suffered 10 damage
You have suffered 10 damage
You have suffered 10 damage
A string of painful notifications appeared in front of him as he heard the Doctore¡¯s words. ¡°On this sand, you train, if you do not train you feel and I will make you feel far worse than this, now get up and hit that dummy, hit it as if it were me¡± Standing up Mars took on his fighting stance, he began to go through his combos he threw a jab, then a jab straight right and he repeated this rhythmic one, two combo while shooting in for a take down here and there. The sun¡¯s were high, and sweat pooled around his body, his knuckles and elbows bloody but he did not stop, he would not stop.. Lest he be struck by that snake tongue of a whip again. ¡°TIME, you maggots earned a bite to eat, head to the mess hall and see Hamlet, YOU HAVE THIRTY MINUTES!¡± the Doctore yelled out ¡°YES, DOCTORE¡± The recruits yelled out as one Finding his way into the mess hall, Mars made his way to the rear of the que to collect his afternoon gruel. ¡°Hey Horns, I''ll throw in the loaf today as well, you look like you need it!¡± The Half pig half man named Hamlet called out to Mars - He wore a friendly smile. ¡°Thanks Hamlet, your meals are what keep me going¡± ¡°HAH, this slop? You should see what I cook up for the Lanista¡± Hamlet said as he tossed Mars a loaf of bread. He nodded at farewell to Hamlet and made his way to a seat far away from everyone, he sat there observing the other recruits, While Nowi was off trying to steal more bread for him.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°She never learns, I guess it''s the thought that counts..¡± He said, taking his attention towards the courtyard. He watched, as the elven boy from earlier approaches one of the female recruits, she leaned against one of the pillars, taking in the afternoon rays of light. Her hair was a blue that matched the sky, it was tied up into a ponytail, which flowed down her spine. her eyes, framed by long dark lashes, bright, lavender in colour, full lips. Her right arm was adorned with a black scaled Manicae, badges bound tightly around her small chest, her thick hips wrapped in tight leather, while her muscular legs and feet were bare. The boy grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into an embrace, she pushed him back. ¡°Siris, we are finished. What do you not understand! Leave me alone!¡± she broke free from him and headed towards the training grounds. ¡°Che, who could possibly date in this place.. Although she was hot.¡± Just as he said this Nowi returned forming webbed hearts all around him, waving his hand to break up the hearts. ¡°Nowi, stop playing cupid. Did you get an extra loaf for me or what?¡± She shook her head and made a webbed bread for him. ¡°Thanks, but that wont fill me up. Sadly.¡± He got up, returned his bowl and headed towards the field for afternoon training.. Arriving at the field, there was yet another crack of the as Doctore yelled to the recruits. ¡°LINE!¡± ¡°This afternoon we will be sparing, find a partner and head to the pits!¡± He cracked his whip. Looking around he tried to find a sparring partner but everytime he approached somebody the would turn away. Siris however wanted to partner with the blue haired girl and made his way to her, she spotted him and quickly looked over the crowd of recruits until she spotted a horned youth - running over to him. ¡°Hey, I''m Kana. Let''s partner up?¡± She said with a smile ¡°The name¡¯s Mars, seems like nobody else wants to be my partner, so id love too!¡± If looks could kill then Mars would have been dead ten times over from the way Siris was staring at him. They made their way to the pits, and these were exactly that large circular holes roughly thirty meters wide and fifteen feet deep. ¡°You will fight here, train as if it was the arena itself! There will be no killing permitted today, so we will be using training weapons. Casters you will limit your power outage as well¡± Mars stood beside Kana waiting for his turn to enter the pit with her, he did not want to fight a girl, he would have much rather fought that Siris guy. That was until he saw Siris battle.. Siris and a red skinned muscular orc, entered the pit. Mars couldn''t tell whether the orc was male or female. The orc muscles that bulged from every part of its body, only to double in size as it beat its chest and roared loudly. She lifted up a warhammer that was twice his size. ¡°Cynthia just used her battle shout, she isn''t holding back at all against Siris¡± Kana said to him Cynthia rushed towards Siris, wielding the massive warhammer. As she was about to bring it crashing down upon Siris he raised his hand and smiled. ¡°Shield¡± Was the only word that came out of his mouth. As the word was formed, so too was a massive golem which wrapped its arms around him shielding him from the oncoming hammer. The hammer reverberated off of the golem''s arms sending a numb sensation up Cynthia¡¯s arms almost causing her to drop the hammer. ¡°Sword¡± Was the next word he whispered. Once more, with his words the golem transformed its arms int blades. Within an instant the golem and pierced her abdomen with its large clay sword forcing her to yield.