Money

I have twelve days to make 600,000 UC. And that's with the discount for your first Elemental Crystal. And then I need another 400,000 UC for the Unlock Crystal, with the first-time discount. That's a million UC. Every time after is 1.5 million UC. 

'I'm so broke.' I wallowed in my poorness and lay on my bed. Nothing to do but sleep and work out.

Or plan. But no ideas were flowing through my head, so I could do nothing about that.

All that was left was to wait.

And so wait I did.

1 day passed, and then another and another. I never left the hotel, choosing to instead indulge myself in the facilities that I had access to, such as a pool, gym, and restaurant.

Soon enough, it had been 8 days. I had only a bit over 4,000 UC and had finally received a call from Jonson. If I failed, it was all over. I didn't think I'd be able to make money another way.

I trudged over to Money Makers —the company that Jonson worked at— with my heart pounding in my chest.

'Please, please please.' I prayed in my mind.

THUMP! THUD-

My heartbeat fell into rhythm with my footsteps, and I entered the elevator. I was so close to my answer; my future teetered on the edge and the suspense was killing me.

I exited the elevator, walked through the snaking path of cubicles, and stood before Jonson's.

I knocked on the wall of the cubicle, and Jonson peeked over the top.

He began to speak, but I couldn't hear anything over the thumping of my heart.

"Wait, wait," I said. "Go from the beginning, I couldn't hear you."

He nodded his head and then gave me his report.

"4 of the 6 companies you invested in flopped, miserably. After you left, I did more market research and put only 4,000 UC in each. Now, you're in debt of about 7,000 UC each, from them."

"Well fuck. How about the other 2?" I asked. 'Debt of 7k each is 28k. I'm so poor.'

"The other 2 did great. In total, I put in 24,000 UC, 12 each, and got back 32,000 and 27,000 UC. So, you lost 28,000 and gained 36,000 UC. A profit of 12,000 UC." 

"Yay!" I said. "Now, keep going and get me more companies to invest in, I'll be back tomorrow."

"Of course, sir." He replied.

I exited the floor, and eventually, the company, and walked back to my room in the hotel and then collapsed on the floor. My legs gave out, the relief was that good.

"Oh thank God." I said to myself. 'Thank fuck I made money.'

I was so close to losing everything —if I hadn't made any money I would have been screwed.

'Please, keep the luck coming.'

---

The next time I visited Jonson, he gave me 13 options and I chose 4 this time, investing all my money, except for 10,000 UC for my lodging.

I made 17,000 UC profit.

Again, Jonson gave me options, and I chose some of them. Again, I invested almost all of my money.

I made more money.

Over and over, I added to my pile little by little, no matter how small the increment, I always came out with a little profit.

'I swear the God of Luck is toying with my feelings.' I didn't know who he was, but he sure liked to pull my leg.

Anyway, over a couple of months, I made over 200,000 UC. It was slow, very slow, but it was impressive. 

This time, I was investing over 180,000 UC in 10 different companies; I hoped to double it.

The result —I made 270,000 UC, so 90,000 UC profit.

I was inching closer to my goal.

---

In a dark expanse that held no light, there stood a pool of gleaming water that illuminated a small portion of the area. Where the light touched was still black, but instead of an inky black that would have been there otherwise, the blackness was muted.

Before the pool stood a man in a white robe, wearing black gloves and shoes. His hood covered his face in a mask of darkness, but his eyes glowed through, piercing the abyss of the hood. They shone in all colors, arraying in random patterns.

The man was ferociously scribbling the air with a floating quill, and he stared at the pool with a crazed look in his eyes.

"Yes, yes! Show me the story I couldn't write," He yelled. "I see, I see."

In the mirror was a certain black-haired man with golden eyes, who was eyeing his figure and tattoos in front of a mirror.

SLAM!

Suddenly, a door slammed open, and the black room became suffused with a white light. In the doorway stood a feminine figure wearing the same outfit as the man. Instead of a quill, however, what hovered around her was an arrow of golden light.

"What are you doing in the Room of Reflection, Scribe?" She asked.

"Oh, nothing, Inquisitress. Don't worry about it. How's Inquisitor?" He responded.

"He's fine, Scribe. Even if you did do something, my husband's not the type to lose to someone like you." She said, to which Scribe nodded his head as if agreeing with her statement.

"Now, get out and stop messing with the mortals." Inquisitress told him.

"Oh, but I've not yet had my fun." Scribe pouted.

"I don't give a crap. Get out before He comes. You wouldn't want him to find out, would you?"

"Argh, you're no fun," Scribe said, walking toward her and out of the room. "As rigid as ever."

She ignored his remark and walked toward the pool of water, and peered inside.

"Oh, what have you done, Scribe?"

Inquisitress paused for a moment, looking deeply into the man in the pool.

"!" She gasped in shock.

"What has he done to you, Arthur, you poor child."

"If only I had come sooner. You wouldn't have been abandoned by fate like this."

She continued to stare at Arthur's figure, thinking, 'I'll have to stay and watch.'

Meanwhile, in another location, Scribe stood in a room identical to the one he was in earlier.

"Try as you might, you can't stop me, sister." He said as he watched, through a pool of water, Inquisitress watch Arthur.

"The story will be told, the wheel will spin, and he will rise." He said poetically.

"These are the constants of the universe, the ones you know," Scribe started to laugh maniacally, "BUT I'VE ALREADY BROKEN THEM ALL!"

"WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO NOW?!?!"

"HAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAH!"

Scribe calmed down after a few minutes and then waved his hands to set the quill in motion.

"Now, write the new story, turn the new wheel, and rise instead, my boy." He said as he changed the pool of water to watch Arthur Goldsmith.