My leg bounced up and down as I stared at the hand I was dealt. A Nine of Hearts and Jack of Hearts. Glancing to the man sitting across the table, I saw his smirk all but radiating smugness at my situation.
At this point, my poker face had all but vanished as I twitched in my seat. My side of the table all but devoid of chips save for the ones currently in the pot.
A card slid on the table face-up, revealing a Ten of Hearts. Following that, two more were slid face-up as well, showing a Queen of Hearts and a Five of Spade.
"So, is your luck running out yet?" The man flashed a menacing grin. "Or will Lady Luck give you a lap dance again?"
I remained silent, a bead of sweat trickling down my right cheek.
'Shit, shit, shit! Come on, I just need a King! Or a Heart! Hell even an Eight!' My mind begged as the dealer once more drew a card from a deck and slid it to the center of the table face up.
Seven of Clubs.
'Fuck, fuck, fuck!' I bit on my free hand's pinky nail, my eyes darting back and forth from my hand and to the cards on the table. 'Please! God! Allah! Buddha! Anyone!'
"You're trembling." The man chuckled. "Where's that stoic young lad I saw an hour ago? Did he just up and vanish?"
The dealer paid the banter no mind, picking up another card and sliding it face-up to the center. At the sight of the card, my heart stopped, then soared a huge grin threatened to split my face in half.
King of Hearts.
Straight Flush.
The second-highest ranking card combination you could get in poker.
I laughed. Actually laughed at the luck I've been given after a dozen shitty hands. Finally, finally I can finally win once, grab the earnings no matter how small and get the fuck out of here.
"Oh? Must be a good hand. Go on, show me." However, the chilling voice of the man in front of me instantly plunged my joyous mood to one of pure dread.
Slowly, I placed my cards down face-up.
"Not bad." The man whistled, the light overhead casting a shadow over his eyes. "Straight Flush, Lady Luck must've liked your balls, kid."
I was starting to feel relieved again, until the man showed me his hand.
"THE FUCK!?" I roared.
An Ace of Hearts, and another Jack of Hearts.
He had a duplicate.
"Royal Flush, I win." The man grinned once more as he reached for the pot.
"No! Hold the fuck up!" I quickly got up from my seat and reached for the chips, only for the dealer to grab my wrist and pull me down to the table. "Ack!? The hell!?"
"No need to be such a sore loser." The man picked up a single poker chip and held it towards my face, his gloved hands giving of the scent of brimstone. "You've lost, that's it."
"Like hell I lost! Cheating bastard!" I nearly frothed at the mouth. The gall this man had to cheat right in front of my face in front of dozens of watchers… Dozens of…
"Where the hell is everyone?" I gulped, my eyes slowly locking with the man with a twisted smile on his lips.
"Took you a while to notice." The man got up from his seat and circled around the table, all the while the dealer held me down with a single arm.
I struggled. Hell, I even used my other arm to pry of his hand from my wrist, but all that amounted to was a ruffled sleeve and an annoyed look from the stoic-looking dealer.
His footsteps echoed across the empty casino, the only light visible being spotlighted on the very table I've been pinned down on. As the man slowly got closer, the sounds of chain clanking upon each other entered my ear.
"Up up up." The man intoned quickly. "No need to struggle, I'm just going to go collect my winnings."
"You sick fuck!" I growled as I felt the man's hand trail downward from my neck to the base of my spine. "Fucking psychopath!"
"Ah, but allow me to pose a question." The man leaned into my ear, his breath tingling my earlobes. "Who's the young lad who wanted to bet everything he had on his person?"
I couldn't help but stay silent, glaring all the while at the red, piercing eyes staring down on me.
A laugh, and the man retreated. As he faded from my vision, I felt his hand on my back once again, only this time, his palm was placed flat against my spine.
"But no worries, what I am about to do is something you could benefit from as well." The man cackled and I felt a hot, searing pain course through my veins.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" I shrieked as I felt my bones break and my flesh melt. I felt the intensity of the cold burning through my muscle, and the sear of the heat chilling my organs. "STOP!! STOOOP!!! MAKE IT STOP!!!"
"Stop being such a whiny baby." His voice almost failed to reach my ears, the pain from this incessant torture dampening any kind of sound from the surrounding. "It'll only take a couple of seconds."
"FUCK YOUUUU!!!" The only thing keeping me awake at this point was my rage at being played like this. I grit my teeth as the pain slowly, but surely, subsided over the course of a few seconds.
After what felt like years, the pain finally died down and I was released back into the blissful feeling of not feeling pain.
My breath came out ragged and shaky, tears slowly squeezing itself out of my eyes and sweat pooling beneath me and onto the table like a puddle.
"Well then, the ritual is complete." I twisted my head and looked at the man, only to freeze and stare upon an abomination. "What? Don't like seeing my true form."
I was speechless. There was no way this thing was human! Absolutely no way!
"Eh, anyway, my job's done." The creature shrugged and then grabbed my head. "Anyways, all that's left is to throw you into one of these."
The creature held out its hand and reality cracked. Fierce wind buffeted around the entire casino, tables and chairs flying off into the walls before breaking on impact.
I shut my eyelids tight, the wind being too strong to even risk getting my eyes ripped to shreds.
"Oh right, one more thing." The creature held me close and something slimy stroked my ear, a hot breath following it. "I had fun, but now, you will have more fun."
And before I knew it, I was tossed into the crack in reality.
[][][]
My eyes opened wide, breath coming out like a fierce windstorm. I quickly scrambled up from my prone position, the soft feeling of grass sliding beneath the palm of my hands.
"What the fuck?" I looked around and saw trees upon trees as far as the eye can see, their leaves swaying with the cool wind.
Getting on a knee, I push myself standing, legs wobbling at the slight exertion. Clenching my fists, I feel like my strength wasn't all back, as evident by my shaking knees.
"Where the hell am I?" Reaching for the nearest tree trunk, I lean my body onto the sturdy bark, my body still reeling from my trip… Trip…?
"… You've got to be fucking kidding." I groaned. Truly, today couldn't get any worse. I'm pretty sure I'd breakdown sooner or later, but my fight or flight instincts were at an all time high. "Alright… alright, cry later, survive now."
I pushed myself off the tree and made for a walk, my legs still not ready for a light jog. The grass beneath me were flattened for each step I took which left an evident trail when I looked back to saw how much farther I've gone.
As I continued with my walk in silence I began to feel tired. Leave it do a dude who rarely exercised to get breathless after just a few minute walk.
I quivered. This was not good. Definitely not good.
I have no idea how to survive in the wilderness. I was not made for camping outdoors, much less extreme survival situations.
And yes, this counts as an extreme survival situation. Don't look at me like that!
"… Fuck, I'm talking to myself again…" I muttered under my breath as I forced that line of thought down the depths of my mind. "Water… Need to find water…"
[Quest Received]
[Tutorial: I'm Thirsty]
[Objective: Find a source of water]
[Reward: 5 Stat Points, 1 Perk Point, System Tutorial Quest, Free water from water source]
"…" I stared at the holographic screen that popped up in front of me in silence. A few seconds later, it was replaced with laughter.
"Fucking hell!" I cackled. "YOU'VE GOT TO BE SHITTING ME!?"
I plopped my big ass on the ground, too tired to move for even a single inch.
"Of course, of fucking course." I moaned like a damn babe. "It just had to be one of those ROB moments."
Yeah, no biggie. Just a random omnipotent being yoinking me from my world and dumping me into another world for shits and giggles, at least, I think it's a new world.
"Damn fucking cheater." I still remember that rigged game. It was supposed to be quits, like the game didn't even fucking happen, but nope, random supernatural bullshit is stronger than my normal, overweight ass. "Fuck my life, man…"
I sighed. Ah well, look in the bright side, no more stupid debt and no more loan sharks. Inheritance my fucking ass, I even inherited the damn debt that came with it.
Useless parents.
"… Ugh, no use crying over spilled milk." I shook my head and made to stand again, my legs no longer trembling as I did so. "Still need to find water."
[][][]
"Why is it so damn hard to find water?" I groaned as my legs went on autopilot.
It's been an hour and a half and still no fucking water! Hell, I didn't even hear a single animal in the past hour and a half of just walking in a random direction.
Of course, there's the fact that I literally have no idea what I'm doing and I'm just winging as I go, but the thing with no animals inside of a damn forest is already terrifying me.
Luckily, its still daylight, and judging by the way the sun is still heading up, its still morning, so no scary, spooky dark forest until a few more hours.
"Ohhh…~ Wateeeeerrr…~ Where art thou…? Wateeeeeeeeer…~ " Bored and tired out of my mind, I resorted to this fucked up anthem of a water searching hymn. "My belly is a deseeeeert…~ Throat feelin' like a dried out raisin…~ Searchin' foh da sweet… Sweet… Uhh… Actually, fuck this."
I scratched my head and sighed. Hasn't even been a day yet and I'm already going batshit crazy.
"I will have my vengeance, you hear me!" I screamed at the top of my lungs and my voice traveled far and wide, echoing through the seemingly empty forest. "Throw me in a fucking forest, will they…"
I have a fucking System. One of the most OP things in any fiction. An unlimited growth power, as well as for how purely bullshit it is. The only problem with my System is that I don't know how it works yet, and until then, I can't make a plan on how to break and abuse it.
And then, after a few more minutes of walking and pondering about how to abuse my System, I heard it.
Water.
"Fucking finally!" Exhaustion forgotten, I pumped my legs as I raced through the trees and into the direction of running water. My brain fully focused on just getting my legs to move faster, my surroundings becoming a blur.
And finally, after more than an hour and a half of searching, I found it. But there was a bit of a caveat.
"… For fuck's sake! I knew it wouldn't have been this easy." I groaned at my misfortune. As for why, it was clearly simple.
The water I found was the damn ocean.
[Quest Complete]
[Tutorial: I'm Thirsty]
[Rewards Obtained: 5 Stat Points, 1 Perk Point, System Tutorial Quest, Free water from water source]
[System Remarks: Who said anything about free drinkable water?]
"The System's also an asshole, thanks ROB." I facepalmed. Truly, today is one of the day… "Anyway, where's my damn tutorial."
[Quest Received]
[Tutorial: I Don't Need No Manual]
[Objective: Learn how to navigate your System]
[Rewards: 5 stat points, 1 perk point, 1 item point, Partial Unlock of the System]
Wait, you're not giving me the entire damn System at the start!? Oh for crying out loud!
"I WILL HAVE MY VENGEANCE! YOU HEAR ME ROB!!! MY VENGEANCE!!!"
After yelling like a damned lunatic at the sky, where no doubt the ROB was cackling like a madman, I went over how to learn how to navigate my System… That is, if I even know where to begin.
"Where's the tutorial? Don't tell me I have to use it first before it starts…" I groaned again. "Of fucking course… Uh… Status…?"
Name: Jack Alano
Title: Unlucky Sunovabitch
Race: Faunus (Tiger [Retractable Claws])
SP = 5
STR: 6
VIT: 4
END: 5
AGI: 6
DEX: 9
INT: 9
WIS: 3
Skills:
Perks:
[Retractable Claws] - Gained from the Faunus Race. Can extend or retract claws at will. Affected by STR, END, and DEX. (Gained from Race: Faunus)
[Night Vision] - Have increased vision in the dark. (Gained from Race: Faunus)
And once again, I was rendered speechless.
"What the hell, Faunus? I'm in fucking RWBY?" I stared at my status screen that glowed neon blue like a man possessed, before zeroing in at the title. "Unlucky Sunovabitch!? Why I oughta… Can I click on it?"
[Unlucky Sunovabitch] - It's your (un)lucky day! You got the undivided attention of the one, the only, ROB! Have fun being the lapdog of the MAN. Effects: You will always gravitate to the main casts of each universe, and vice versa. (This title is locked and can be equipped with another title)
"You've got to be fucking kidding…"
Shaking my head, I focused on the task at hand. Rage later, finish quest now.
Now that I know I'm in the RWBY universe - it was the logical conclusion due to my race, kinda weird actually - staying in this forest was not safe. In fact, I was fucking lucky that I didn't run into any kind of Grimm during my more than an hour and a half search for water.
I was pretty sure I was a bundle of negative emotions at the time, so it was a bit weird I didn't see one, not that I was looking a gift horse in the mouth.
"Okay, so how do I proceed…" I'm pretty sure this isn't all of my System. The quest didn't give me a completed sign. "Uh… Inventory?"
[Inventory:]
[Present from your loving ROB]
Okaaaayy… That is not ominous, not one fucking bit. "How do I get it…?"
Reaching my hand forward, I sink it into the glowing screen in front of me. I paused for a moment, before moving my head to the side of the screen and not seeing the other half of my arm.
Creepy…
"Now what?" I thought for a moment, before gaining an idea. I thought of the present, if it even was one, and my hand suddenly felt something in its palm.
Grabbing it, I pulled it out of my inventory and out followed my hand grabbing hold onto a green colored box wrapped with a cute red ribbon.
Not thinking anything else, I unwrapped the ribbon and opened the box.
Inside was a silver pendant.
Grabbing it, I hold it out in front of my face, trying to look for anything out of the ordinary. Spoiler alert, there wasn't. I looked just like an ordinary silver pendant.
There was something a bit curious though. It couldn't be opened. And I'm not fucking forcing this thing open. What if the ROB smites me?
Placing the pendant back into my inventory, I opened the window again to test something out.
[Inventory: ]
[Pendant (?)]
"Of course… Why did I think anything else would show up." I sighed and closed the window.
The quest wasn't done yet, so I had to continue.
"Options… No? Okay, how about Settings? Nada?" I hummed and once again plopped my big ass on the ground. I was a chunky boi, sue me. "Alright, no options, Titles?"
[Titles:]
[Unlucky Sunovabitch]
"Okay, nothing new… What else is there… Wait, didn't my last quest give me perk points?"
[Perk Points: 1]
[Item Rolls: 0]
I'm now even more confused. What the hell do I even use these perk points for? Buy perks from a shop?
[Spend a perk point?] Y/N
"… You know what, why not. Yes." I nodded and watched as the System showed me a dice that looked like a d100. "No… No, no no! Why is it RNG!? Odds, I need the odds!"
[1 - 50: Common]
[51 - 75: Uncommon]
[76 - 85: Rare]
[86 - 93: Epic]
[93 - 97: Legendary]
[98 - 99: Mythical]
[100: Divine]
"… RNG have mercy." I gulped. I was never lucky in life, so please, for the love of all that is holy, give me a fucking chance. "Here it goes…"
I grabbed the dice and rolled it. And there it spun…
And spun again…
And spun some more…
Until finally, it stopped.
[15]
"… Oh you mothERFUCKER!!!" I screamed. I was so busy screaming at my shitty luck, in fact, that I didn't notice another dice in front of me, hovering without a care in the world. "What now? Pity roll?"
I examined the dice and only saw it was a d6, with each side having a written category.
[Physical Combat]
[Magic]
[Production]
[Gathering]
[Survival]
[Miscellaneous]
"Let's just get this over with." I grabbed the dice and rolled it. I really hoped it would land on combat or even survival, what with me being in the wilderness.
A few seconds later and it stopped on Survival, but with it being a common perk, thanks to my horrendous luck, it wouldn't be anything that good.
[Perk Received]
[Iron Belly - You won't get sick from eating raw food. Still tastes like shit though.]
"… I'll take it." I sighed. Might not be one I wanted, but hey, might be useful when I have no more food.
[Quest Complete]
[Tutorial: I Don't Need No Manual]
[Rewards: 5 stat points, 1 perk point, 1 item point, Partial Unlock of the System]
"You know what, I'll just go for broke. Another perk sounds good right about now." I decided and navigated to the perk roll window. Once again grabbing the dice, I roll it and hope to high hells I get a good one.
[75]
Why couldn't it be a rare, why!?
Sighing once more, I grab the next die and roll it too.
[Miscellaneous]
Oh for fuck's sake!
[Perk Received]
[Good Lookin' - You look good. That's it. People will find you more attractive.]
"… Okay, it's not half bad. Maybe I can finally lose my V-card." I thought to myself before groaning.
That is, if I can find my way to civilization first…
So, here's the thing I said would post before SHA (Rewrite). Lemme know what you think of it. BTW, for those of you who wants to roll for Jack, head on over to le discord channel.
https://discord.gg/v9f5kjsfVv