Chapter 1: A New World
It has been a few days now since Venture came into this world. The surrounding is a bit more on the line of futuristic buildings, together with fantasy-style as well. The buildings are mostly at the average of two stories high, with a few being higher and lower.
Completely different from his own world. Sure, some of the people here wear clothes, that's modern. But, there is no internet, much to Venture's horror upon finding this out on the first day here and almost made a scene once he checked the local library to gain Intel in this world by doing the same thing Venture usually do when in the need to research for anything. By using the internet; however, that fail completely when there were no computers in the library.
Okay, there is just a high chance that the local library Venture visited didn't have the fund to buy a computer and he highly doubts that with the size of the library. Since the building is big enough to be a mansion for someone rich to stay at. But, this mansion size library is just to hold all these books, which Venture happily used to learn about this world after asking a few people to find the section of books he needed. But, there is still no computers at all and much to his paranoia. Venture asked about it, but no one has any idea what a computer is, even after Venture did his best to describe it.
So yeah, no luck with computers, which means no internet. This is something horribly for those who always on the internet every single day. Nevertheless, this was fine for Venture after discovering something very important about this world. That made it much easier to deal with a world without the internet. And that is something on the line of living like in a video game, but at the same time not.
"Status." Venture whisper.
Name: Venture
Title: [Gambler of Fate] - You are fate's gambler and making the impossible possible.
Health: 100/100%
Physical Fatigue: 3/100%
Mental Fatigue: 35/100%
Unique Skill: [Everything Is A Gamble] - The user is able to use anything to gamble with fate. [Price]: The medium used will disappear afterward.
Venture doesn't gamble that much, other than gambling in online games with gacha system in them, much to his endless regret on wasting so much money on it. Anyway, Venture did some research while making sure no one finds it weird of him reading about something that commonly known for everyone else in this world.
The first thing is the name. Venture wonder if this fate or something, because in this world. Everyone is named after their [Skill] and [Title]. As his name means risky and gambling is always a risky thing to do. Venture does wonder if he would obtain a different [Skill] and [Title] if his name was something else. Food for the thought.
Further into detail about names is that everyone in this world below the age of 10 is nameless. At the age of 10 is when everyone awakens their [Skill] and [Title]. One [Skill] and one [Title]. No more, no less.
Children before the age of 10 are addressed as a child and their parent's names. For example, going with Venture's name if he had a kid. They'll be called as Child of Venture. Weird, but this would help Venture by getting a hint of what the other people's [Skill] and [Title] are. Also, it seems like people here don't have a last name at all.
Venture has no idea if there is a way for others to check people's [Skill] and [Title], but he will come across that in the future.
Now, going into the [Skill] and [Title]; both are very important in this world. Like really important for everyone's life. For one thing, there are two types of [Skill] that are [Normal Skill] and [Unique Skill]. [Normal Skills] are what most people would unlock and even some people can unlock the same [Normal Skill]. While the [Unique Skill] is something one in a million chance of awakening, where it is very powerful and only one person can have it. No one else can have it, period.
Of course, having [Normal Skill] doesn't make one weak and/or useless. This is where the [Title] comes in. Because everyone will always have different [Title], where one has awakened the [Normal Skill: Fireball] and the [Title: Fire Manipulator]. This allows the user to freely manipulate their [Skill: Fireball] in any way they like.
Now, with [Unique Skill]. People who awaken these [Unique Skill] will always have a [Title] related to their [Unique Skill], but this could be considered a blessing or a curse. For example, someone awakens the [Unique Skill: Heavenly Cooking], allowing the user to cook anything that so good. It can't possibly exist in the mortal realm and must be something only could be found in Heaven. However, they could awaken the [Title: Maker of Poison], where everything the person cooked would turn into poison. But, of course, the food is still delicious. It's just that the consumers have the potential to die from food poisoning, no matter how good it is. They'll still end up being poisoned.
So in a way, [Normal Skill] holders will have a higher chance of getting some decent to amazing [Title] that would turn their [Normal Skill] into something powerful. While [Unique Skill] holders will have a [Title] that's potential doom themselves and/or those around them in some way. But, at the same time, there is the chance of turning the [Unique Skill] into something godly.
Finally, health, physical fatigue, and mental fatigue. These three are something has little information or that Venture hasn't found the books with more detail about them. He is leaning to the latter, since it's impossible to find all the right books in this mansion size library without ending up getting lost. Something, that's embarrassing for Venture since he did get lost in this library upon randomly looking for the computers at the time.
These are in percentage, something that Venture finds a little weird because most video games have an exact number for these kinds of things or none at all.
Anyway, the health stands for one's health, enough said. Venture will have to do more research to find more about the health stat.
The physical fatigue from what Venture has read so far. It is the combined form of stamina and hunger. So if one is tried, the physical fatigue goes up in percentage, the same if one is hungry. Of course, this is technically good and bad. Good, because in theory, one can have endless stamina as long one continues to eat. Bad, because no matter if one doesn't do anything. As long as someone gets hungry, then their stamina will be drained too.
The mental fatigue has less info compared to the previous two. All Venture knows is that doing mental tasks would cause mental fatigue's percentage to go up until it reaches 100%. Something that is very bad, where if anyone does hit 100%. Then, they will feel very dizzy and if they continue to do something mentally. High chance of someone entering into a coma. There have been noted examples of it happening to many people in the past. Same with physical fatigue, but just that one can't move at all at 100% and forcing to would lead to some crippling aftereffects.
Other than learning about these; Venture did some experiment with his [Unique Skill], much to his excitement of being that someone of one in the million to getting a [Unique Skill]. Though, Venture wonders if he would have awakened a [Normal Skill] instead if he was born in this world. Instead of just randomly pop here with his own body, that has already been awakened the [Unique Skill] and [Title] already. Anyway, Venture was lucky enough to come to this world with his clothes as well, which means the money in his pockets. Especially the coins since Venture could just flip the coin to guess on heads or tails, to gamble.
Sadly, Venture only had five coins in his pockets while having a few bills in his wallet. Both are technically useless in this world, because the money currency in this world goes by 1 bronze coin, 100 bronze coins equal to 1 silver coin, 100 silver coins equal to 1 gold coin, and any higher, than a gold coin. Venture has no idea. Nevertheless, at least Venture knows that 15 bronze coins are enough to rent a small size bedroom for a night. 4 apples cost 1 bronze coin. Weirdly enough. So, in a way, renting a small size bedroom for a night is worth 60 apples.
Then again, Venture could guess why food, even for something small as an apple would worth so much. Because in this world is more on the line of an apocalyptic world. Even now, there are people at the city walls are fighting off the monsters trying to invade the city and kill all the humans. As for what these monsters are. Venture will need to do more searching.
Getting back on topic; Venture learns that his [Unique Skill] is like a plot armor that's been turned into a [Skill], but at the same time could be a major curse. For one thing, Venture tested it out by using one of the five coins he came with. As for what Venture gamble for with the coin is to find the local library within ten minutes if he gets heads from the coin flip. Luckily, the coin land on heads and the coin literally disappear by fading from existence.
Ten minutes walking without a destination and Venture reached the local library. Another test is doing the same by finding a computer in 10 minutes if the coin land on heads. Sadly, it didn't and he can't find a computer at all. In fact, Venture would think that computers were erased from this world or something. He wouldn't think such a thing, but with the [Title: Gambler of Fate]. Able to make the impossible possible. So, Venture won't put it pass fate taking away the computer for losing the gamble. Even if for something so simple, but this is enough for Venture to learn a very important lesson from this experiment.
It's fine winning and all that, but losing is not an option. In fact, Venture planning to gamble something small and be very specific with his words, or figure a way to make the gamble lean on his side more often. Because instead of not finding a computer in 10 minutes. Venture may have made it so the chance of creating a working computer won't be possible for the next 10 years from now.
It's a good thing Venture has already come up with a way to make it so whenever he loses the gamble. It won't be too extreme and could affect reality itself. As this method helped him gather the money to rent the small size bedroom for a week and enough spare money to afford food to eat at least one a day if Venture uses the money he obtained carefully.
What Venture did was use another coin, but this time, he made it so that if it lands on heads, he would find money lying around within the next 5 minutes, that's enough for him to live in a building with a roof over his head and at least once meal a day for one week to spend. However, if Venture's coin land on tails. He will have to spend a week outside without any chance of a place to stay inside at all, including rarely find any food to eat. Luck was on Venture side as the coin landed on heads at the time. 5 minutes later, Venture found a small bag with 2 silver coins and 7 bronze coins.
Venture quickly discards the small bag, not caring if it some kind of special bag or anything. Better not take his chance on it belong to someone important and may end up coming after him upon finding out, that Venture was the one who picked it up.
So, Venture just needs to place two conditions for what he'll win and what he'll lose in gambling, then he is golden. Of course, Venture tested if he could make the winning side better than the losing side. It did not work. As in, how Venture knows it didn't work; well, the coin didn't disappear as it supposes to.
Now, with two coins left. Venture did two more tests while keeping the silver and bronze coins to spend instead of using them to gamble.
In the first test, Venture tried to boost his own luck. By increasing his luck temporarily by double if he wins the gamble, but if Venture loses, then he would have his luck cut in half temporarily for an hour. It landed on tails, which means Venture should have his luck cut in half. Much to Venture's relief and disappointment. It did work as the coin faded away. So Venture had half of his luck for an hour and boy was that bad. But, on the other hand, this means he can actually increase his own luck, which is really broken.
Venture had to wait an hour later before he starts the last test with the last coin he owns that's from Earth. And man was he happy when the hour was up, because Venture continues to have more than bad luck than usual. One of the bad things happened to him during that one hour is that Venture had food fall all over him by accident when someone was walking pass by. Just by tripping over something and out of everyone in the area. Venture was the one that got hit.
Anyway, after an hour later and Venture took a shower, then wore a new brand of clothes he had purchased nearby, causing him to have to shorten the amount of food he could buy for the rest of the week. Bad luck there. So, with the last test, to do is to see if Venture could affect others instead of himself.
Venture uses the last coin to affect a random person's luck. Heads they'll have a brief moment of being lucky in any way and tails for bad luck. Luckily for that random person, because it landed on heads and Venture was very surprised the person found someone they haven't met for years and finally reunited after so long. So, yes, the test to see if he can affect other's luck in any way or gamble with their fate worked.
Currently, Venture is at the library again and just finished reading a book about what type of the most common jobs many would take in this city. To his surprise, there are many, but the top three are something Venture finds more interesting than the rest.
The main top of the list, from what Venture has just read. It is to become a servant of someone from the government area, where many important and powerful people live in. As there are many benefits to becoming a servant of even the weakest and lowest person in the government area, to the point that many would envy that person who managed to obtain that servant position.
The second of the most wanted job is the courier; people who head outside the city to gather resources outside to bring back to the city. This, of course, has a high death rating, so only those who are strong or desperate enough would take this job. High risk with high reward. As there is a 90% chance of death for those that are weak.
The third most wanted job is the city patrol guard, where these are technical the people that served under the government. Kind of like the servant position, but at the same time not. Because the servant position allows themselves to live in the government area while the city patrol guard can't.
Out of all three top jobs; the servant position has more benefits, the courier has quicker rewards, and the patrol guard has a higher status among the common people.
To Venture's disappointment, he couldn't find a book to explain more in detail about this government area. Just that it is a place where people important and very powerful people live in. While the rest of everyone living in the public area. Which is where Venture is at.
Just the size of this library is in the public area alone has already blown Venture's mind. So he can't imagine the size of the library available in the government area or at least have more valuable information compared to the one in the public area.
Venture got up from his seat, stretching his muscle before placing the book back into the shelf where he got it from. Then start heading out of the library, which takes almost half an hour. That is how long it usually is to take between the entrance and to the nearest bookshelf of random subjects.
The first thing Venture did after finish his research is to head out to find a job, not the three top jobs. Not yet anyway, since Venture doesn't have much information on them.
On another note; Venture wonders why was he chosen to come into this world. With short black hair and eyes, with a bit on the skinny side for a man in his early 20s. With an appearance that could be found easily in the streets. Venture was raised in a normal average life, with enough food to go by every day and was still going into college. Raised by a good family that loves him, he made some decent friends, both in real life and online. Slacking off classes some time to play video games and so on. Overall, he would just be some random person that wouldn't be much noticeable, nor would he be someone to be remembered for years other than a selected few people.
So honestly, Venture has no idea why he was chosen to come into this world when he doesn't have any special talents that would separate him from his peers.
Letting out a tired sigh, Venture begins walking around the place that looks like a normal modern-day world, if one just ignores the way some people do something supernatural. Venture has already come across a few people working in a food stall, where at the minimum two people having the [Skills] related to cooking and some way to support the person with the [Cooking Skill]. At this point, Venture knew that to stay low-key. He had to make it look like every time someone uses their [Skills] nearby. Venture must make it like nothing is out of the ordinary upon seeing it happen.
Today, Venture hopes to find a job that doesn't ask too many questions, where he may or may not know about it. In fact, Venture won't find a job that leans into the shady business of the world. Since he has read about it many novels, to the point that Venture may not be able to handle it and mentally break down.
Venture know he no strong-will main character, nor was he someone who was trained in martial arts or anything combat-related. The best Venture could think of, that he knows about combat is how to punch and kick right, but that's it. So, no. Venture needs to find a job that is enough for him to live by and doesn't require him to end up fighting in any way. He is no fighter.
Even cooking would be hard for him since the only thing he knows how to cook was to make instant cup noodles without burning it. So the idea of getting a cooking job is out of the option available for Venture. Plus, Venture got the feeling that he would require to have a [Skill] related to cooking to even be qualified for the job interview.
Venture could check if there is a casino or something, since with his [Unique Skill]. Those places should be his best bet to hang around. However, Venture won't take the risk at all, even if he could find one. Since Venture has no idea if there are people with [Skill] that could detect other people using their [Skills] to cheat in some way.
Honestly, Venture is being very paranoid with all these kinds of things when it hasn't even happened yet. But, in his opinion; Venture rather be paranoid than end up being captured and used against his will or killed for many reasons.
-LIABG-
After a few hours of disappointing job search. Venture begins walking back to the apartment building he has stayed so far. And luckily, the landlord didn't ask any questions that would make it difficult for him. All Venture had to do was pay for the rent and that's it.
Soon, Venture would have to use his [Unique Skill] again as a way to gain more money, but who knows if his luck would good or bad at the time. However, if by the time Venture used up all his money and still haven't found a job. Then, Venture will have to depend on his luck for the better or worse.