Potential, Chaos, and a Deal

Tower's sigh filled the air. "Well, you and I are super compatible. Really compatible. We have a really high synchronization rate. This will help you tap into the powers that I will share with you."

"You're going to share power with me? Does that mean I'm like your servant then? This sounds like a bad deal." Abel's skepticism poked at the claim's Tower was making.

"Look. If you tell me your name, then I will be able to process more of your information. Right now I can only sense our compatibility. Your name will be like signing a contract to share more of your information with me." Tower was getting impatient again.

"My name is Abel. It is pointless to hide it from you. I can't do anything in this space anyways." Abel flopped down dejectedly and began to float again.

Tower was silent for a while while he analyzed Abel. "Wow... this is kinda incredible. Your potential, for absolutely everything... its just..." Tower struggled to finish the sentence.

Abel moved his hands behind his head and let the confidence twist his lips into a smile. "I'm surprised. So, Tower, am I your chosen one?" Abel chuckled.

Tower snapped at Abel in shock "What! Chosen one? You aren't the chosen one. You are just one that was chosen."

"What is that supposed to mean! Don't butter me up about how compatible we are then get whiney like this. Deity? Are you serious?" Abel snapped back and didn't hold back with his biting remarks.

"Don't act all high and mighty kid! You aren't all that special. Our compatibility isn't that important. If I had to give a number to your stats, everything, absolutely everything would be a one!"

"What! I have to ask. I just... I have to. Is one good? Or is having everything good?" Abel's voice was shakey, just like his hope. Flickering like a soft candlelight in the wind.

"I'll be honest. One is absolutely terrible. The worst, except for zero I guess. Now, having everything is pretty good, that is a good point. Usually though, it just lets talented people take advantage of whatever comes their way, and focus on what they like the most."

"I can't do that though? Even with your help? I don't understand." Abel was thinking over the abstract information he had received. Benefactors just give powers to people, and he had the luck to encounter one he was compatible with. He can even do everything, but he's terrible at it all?

"Look, I can't turn information into to numbers. It isn't so simple. Basically I say this because you can barely get any stronger. You are already near your full potential with absolutely everything. Very balanced which can be good, but no more room for significant growth. Physically, magically, all of it... ly."

"I could get a little stronger? You're a deity, what do you base your scale on?" Abel asked, trying to find any last glimmer of hope.

"Would you let me peer into your memories? I can tell you based on things you've seen or are familiar with." Tower asked.

"Fine! You can look at anything from within the last year. Please don't dig any more than that." Abel relented.

After a couple minutes, Tower began to speak again. "So, I don't say this out of spite. I just want to give you some perspective. All that 'weirdness' you might call it, that you've been feeling and experiencing over the last day, is because you're so weak."

"What? That doesn't make any sense!" Abel was very confused. It did somehow make sense though, if magic were somehow blamed for it all.

"You see, your body and mind could not handle the high level of compatibility. When benefactors are coming, they probe for suitable candidates. The probes and energy resonated with you more powerfully than you could handle right now. This caused a lot of adverse effects."

"Well, Tower, what about my potential? How strong could I get? Measured against things I know."

Tower pondered for a few moments more. "If I label the combination of your combat, magical, and other abilities right now a 1. Weak unintelligent monsters are anywhere from 3 to 5. Higher if they're in a group. That hero whirlpool is above 10. Probably lower than 20 though."

"What about me? Come on Tower!" Abel was showing that he could get impatient too.

"At best you could hit 4." Tower waited for his response, but Abel was silent. Abel began to pace again. "Look kid, don't worry about it. I'll find someone else. You aren't the chosen one. Another one could be chosen." Tower tried his best to comfort Abel.

"Can I see your face?" Abel asked. He stood still and lightly clenched his fists.

A 4 foot tall man in a suit appeared. He had green skin with brown tones mixed in. Long bony fingers ran through his long black hair then tied it into a ponytail. This exposed his pointy ears, not excessively long, but more so than a human's. He had two horns, one was small. No bigger than a thumb in length, yet very thick. The other was longer than a banana.

Two small fangs were plain when he opened his mouth to speak. "Nice to meet you, Abel."

"Nice to meet you, Tower." Abel took a deep breath, then stared into Tower's striking red eyes. "I needed to tell you this to your face, because its important." Tower's expression became a bit more serious, and he nodded at Abel. "You're wrong."

"I'm wrong? What about?" Tower was confused by how suddenly Abel had questioned him like this.

"I am your chosen one. You will choose me. It sounds like there isn't a remarkable thing about me. But there is. I make remarkable decisions. Or I will. I want your power." Abel held the fiercest eye contact while he shared his truth.

"Hold on." Tower interrupted. "You do have one thing that interests me. It could maybe be remarkable. When I said everything, I meant absolutely every single one. Which includes the rare chaos element. Most people who have a balance of everything don't have the chaos element."

"Really?" Abel smiled at that remark. The idea that he had something special. A power others didn't. "Do you wanna play a game then? Let's make a bet."

"Yeah?" Tower smiled wide. His face looked somewhat horrific. He was an unknown creature, that embodied all of the unknown and all that could be known, at the same time.

"Let's each roll one die. If you roll higher than me, I'll leave you alone. Let you choose someone with greater potential. If I roll higher, you are gonna help me. What do you say? Deal with the devil?" Abel extended his hand to shake.

Tower looked Abel up and down and his expression changed as he pondered over the idea. He eventually smiled and took a few steps toward Abel. They shook hands and then two dark velvety boxes appeared in the air.

Tower nodded lightly and Abel grabbed a box. Tower took the other. Abel pulled out a simple six sided die. Tower pulled out a twenty sided die. "Really Tower? Do you want to get rid of me so badly? Weren't we supposed to be friends?" Abel laughed.

"You could have grabbed the bigger one." Tower shrugged and they both looked at each other for a moment. Then they extended their hands and rolled the dice.

The die of fate cast, Abel felt sick like butterflies were dancing in his stomach. They floated out into the empty space and bounced against invisible objects. They dropped down and spun and spun, all sides swapping positions one with another. They eventually stopped, and Abel thought he could hear a phantom echo of the dice in his mind.

They leisurely walked over to the dice. Abel did his best to relax. This was the closest he had ever gotten to magic, to being a hero, to being more than he was before meeting Tower. They looked down at the dice.

"Two fives. What does that mean, kid?" Tower looked over at Abel. Abel wasn't looking back though. All of his attention was focused on the dice. His vision grew blurry again, but this time it was from tears. His hands had begun to tremble, so he squeezed his pants.

'A tie?' Abel thought. 'What the hell? What are my odds?'

"Listen kid... No Abel." Tower filled his voice with a serious tone. "I see a lot of myself in you. I get what it is like to be weak and feeble. I'm a goblin. It is somewhat like what you understand Goblins to be. I realize why we have such a high compatibility, just a little bit.... There's another option." Tower showed a solemn and serious face, but compassion born of memories flashed behind his eyes.

"Because we tied? What is this other option? " Abel wiped the tears from his eyes. He took a deep breath. "So in option three, the tie, do we both win?"

"Perspective. Option three will let you reset your potential, making it higher. It is pretty tricky to manage though. But kid, your feelings are as honest as mine were, you're a good gambler, and you might be almost as smart as me." Tower smiled again but somehow projected a sense of respect through his goblin features.

Abel chuckled lightly at Tower's reference to his own words. "So how high would my potential go then?"

"Limitless, kid."

Abel was shocked into silence. "Limitless?" He ran his fingers through his short hair. "How do I go from one to infinity?" The amazement in his tone wasn't hidden in the slightest.

"Little by little. You reset your potential, over and over again. Like prestige-ing, or raising your quality from one to two stars in games you've seen. You have a lot of games in your world." Tower pondered over the peculiar things he has seen of Abel's earth.

"I see. What makes it tricky to manage? Do I get very weak after a prestige or what? There must be some kind of adverse effect."

Tower sighed. "Well, you will have to work with and raise some of my subordinates. You train them, and yourself. Then all of you do the prestige thing over and over. The whole time, I tax your efforts. All of your training and prestige becomes profits for me basically." Tower stroked his chin while looking for Abel's reaction.

"Training?" Abel pondered for a moment. "So if we do this, my pushups can be turned into your profit? And what is this about raising your subordinates? Raising? Are they children? Will I be some sort of summoner?"

Tower began to lose his patience with all of the questions. He liked that Abel was smart, but he was a bit annoying. "Kid! Take it easy, huh? Your pushups would be worth something to me, actually. Don't worry about my god stuff. Option three keeps a degree of separation between us. You aren't my servant, I get to choose someone else still."

Abel raised his eyebrows then nodded for Tower to continue. "I won't choose you. I will just be giving you a gift. A business contract. My subordinates will give you powers. The more they grow, the more you do. You'll figure it out. Do you want to make a deal with the devil, or not? Or so a friend of mine said." Tower held out a hand and had a smug expression.

"Is it that simple?" Abel tilted his head to the side. Tower nodded. "I'll make a deal with you, Tower. And you're no devil."

They both laughed as they shook hands. A wind from nowhere began to whip around and even the talentless Abel could sense the energy in the air clearly.