Chapter 7

[1st POV]

The situation ultimately resolved itself.

Director Nick Fury personally arrived at the "crime scene" with his assistant, the pretty brunette, Agent Hill.

He declared that the bound Loki should be sent to the Triskelion while I should be left alone, as I was almost a victim. 

Thor receives some scolding for forgetting to inform S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers that Loki was on Earth.

Then Emma and her support team of neutral mutant friends discussed something with him and Tony. 

After that, I was left in peace.

However, Emma insisted that I should move into her penthouse for my own good. 

It would be safer there, and she'd feel better knowing I was nearby. 

However, I refused again but was tempted to abandon my principles, my own skin was worth more than any adventure.

She agreed and sighed at my rejection, but she gave me the keys to her penthouse and a panic button to ensure she would defend my home.

I spent the entire night restless with fear that Loki would show up again. 

Thankfully, nothing happened, and I was safe.

The next morning, I returned to work on repairs in my café.

After lunch, I rushed to my new dungeon. I needed to grow and blow off some steam after the stress.

I decided to venture not into the old Dungeon but to take a trip outside the city to a new one that was open to my level. 

It was called "Goblin's Territory."

This dungeon consisted of a system of caves inhabited by goblins of various levels and classes, goblin warriors, goblin spearmen, goblin paladins, goblin brutes, and even goblin shamans.

The initial goblins were relatively easy to deal with, but the goblin paladins fought better, and I ended up with a few bruises. 

Luckily, I had equipped some trophy armor that protected me from serious and dangerous wounds.

The loot from these creatures was more abundant and varied with battle hammers, axes, swords, and new armor of different ranks and levels.

I even had bars of gold and silver, but those were much rarer—there were only two pieces for each type.

The shamans were a real challenge. 

Fortunately, there were only three of them in the entire dungeon, but defeating them was difficult because their magic was dangerous, and their shields prevented me from taking them down easily. 

I had to attack them carefully and catch them off guard, waiting for the right moment.

At the end of the dungeon, there were once again three chests for me to choose from. 

I carefully considered my options and then chose the one in the middle. 

In the end, I received a familiar "goblin bodyguard."

After acquiring him, I equipped him with the best gear I could find and then stored him in my Inventory. 

According to the System, he would follow any order I gave him, like suicide, fight for me, and protect me from any danger. 

He knew neither fatigue, nor fear, nor hunger, nor doubt. He appeared bulkier and more imposing despite being just a one-and-a-half-meter tall goblin with armor and weapons.

The next day, I spent the first half of the day working on the renovations of my café, finally reaching a new level: "Jack of All Trades." 

Afterward, I headed to the dungeon with my bodyguard to level up.

There wasn't any significant prize this time, but I increased my personal level and "Marksmanship" skill. 

I spent the ten stat points I earned on Luck and then decided to try my luck at the casino.

I chose a regular casino instead of heading to Las Vegas and decided not to spend more than twenty thousand dollars. 

I started small, playing the slot machines. After several trials and attempts, I raised my Luck by five points. 

Overall, I only won twenty dollars more.

After that, I switched to poker. 

I specifically chose a table using "Player's Eye," where the players were regular people looking to gamble and had some money to spare.

After two hours of intense play, I won an additional twenty-three thousand dollars and changed into cash. 

I also gained five points to Luck and leveled up my "Observation." 

By combining this skill with "Player's Eye," I was able to read my opponents' cards much more easily than I expected. 

After leaving the casino, I walked away with a new skill "Gambler."

However, I didn't know what it meant or how it affected anything, and the System didn't provide any explanation. 

But I thought it might relate to gambling and bets...

For the next five days, I worked on repairs, explored dungeons during the day, and visited the casino in the evening.

As a result, I leveled up once more and raised my bodyguard to level five.

In the second dungeon, I received another familiar, just like the previous one, but at level one.

Status:

Name: Christian "Chris" Smith

Health: 175

Level: 8

Titles: "Pawn of the God of Games," "King of Fast Food," "Fatty," "Untouchable," "Chitauri Slayer."

Class:

Subclass:

Attributes:

Strength: 53

Agility: 25

Endurance: 58

Intelligence: 30

Intuition: 30

Luck: 75

Charisma: 12

Leadership: 15

Pathos: 11

Strategy: 8

Will: 25

Free Points: 10

Features: Player, Mind of the Player, Body of the Player, Store, Map, Obesity

Skills: 

Cooking - Level 30

Observation - Level 33

Alcohol Resistance - Level 1 

Persuasion - Level 1

Accuracy - Level 22 

Melee Weapon Mystery - Level 4

Jack of All Trades - Level 3

Regeneration - Level 1 

Player - Level 3

The stones and even the gold and silver I sold as well, and after the casino and dungeons, I unexpectedly found myself with quite a bit of money—two and a half million dollars.

After considering where to invest the money, I decided to allocate a million to purchase a small portion of shares in Frost Industries. 

Emma was quite pleased when she found out and once again tried to lure me into a date she attempted to present as a "business meeting with a shareholder." 

However, I, being clever, refused with a made-up reason that she swallowed.

I put another half a million in a bank for interest, and then I used the last million to buy another building, hire new staff for the business, and buy a car.

Of course, such investments did not go unnoticed by the tax authorities, and they questioned me about why I was "living beyond my means." 

I had a ready excuse about the casino and secret savings "for a rainy day." 

During the interrogation, I managed to level up my Persuasion by three levels, and they believed me, leaving me alone.

Life was getting better, and I was feeling good… until I started craving sex. 

That's when I realized I was a young and hot-blooded guy. 

I respected Emma, and she was almost like a friend to me, but because of the damn System and the God of Games, she had fallen in love with me, and I couldn't take advantage of that to satisfy my desires.

Therefore, the logical solution was prostitutes!

After finding out where there was a legal brothel, I went there. 

It's stupid, of course, when a beautiful girl is interested in me, and I turn my nose up and head to a prostitute like a saint. 

However, I can't help myself. 

It seems this world is affecting me poorly, and the illogical actions and behaviors are some sort of cliché from the Marvel and DC worlds. 

I drove to a neighboring district, which, according to the person who advised me, was the best and closest one. 

I parked my car and was getting out when a group of kids approached me. 

"Got a smoke, uncle?"

"I don't smoke, guys, and I wouldn't advise you to either. You should focus on sports instead." 

I suggested, trying to avoid a fight as I walked past them, but they surrounded me.

"Do you want to ask something else?"

"Yeah, uncle." 

One of them smiled. 

"I see you're an athlete. What about teaching us how to jump properly? By the way, you don't have anything in your pockets that might fall out during your jumps, like your phone, right? It would be a shame if something so nice got broken. Just give it to me; I'll hold it for you." 

He grinned.

"Oh! I'm impressed." 

I replied honestly. 

"That's the most original way to mug someone for a phone and not the most stupid one I've ever seen. Have you been doing this recently? Well. It's probably not your first time with that kind of voice."

However, it looked like none of them wanted to wait or keep having this pointless conversation. 

The one on my right tried to hit me, but I dodged and slammed my elbow into his jaw. 

After that, I was hit from behind by the other two guys. 

The third, who was still standing, tried to punch me in the stomach, but I lunged at him, tackling him to the ground. 

Then, I just rolled a few times to the left.

When I got back on my feet, two more guys charged at me. I knocked out the "talking" thug as he hit his head on the ground. 

I ducked under a left hook and punched the attacker in the stomach. 

After he bent over from the hit, I slammed my elbow into his back, causing him to crash to the ground.

Then, it was time to dodge and defend against the last thug, but I quickly realized that his punches didn't bother me much due to my "thick skin" and leveling up. 

I let a shot to the chest slide, countering with a punch to the guy's face. 

It seemed I even broke or knocked out a tooth.

The first guy I elbowed in the jaw was getting back up, but I quickly ran over and kicked him in the stomach, followed by a finishing punch to the face. 

I checked their stats and realized that each of them was half as strong as me. 

Therefore, thugs without weapons were no threat at all. However, the outcome would have been different if they had a knife or a bat. 

I couldn't just pull out a gun and shoot the punks, right?

"Ding!"

[You have unlocked a new skill: "Fighter."]

[Fighter: You're no pushover and can stand up for yourself. You lack a fighting style, but that doesn't stop you from punishing thugs for their attacks.]

[You have unlocked a new attribute: "Speed."]

Interesting. 

'So what should I do now? Not what Iron Fist or Daredevil do; if I do that, I might get into trouble.'

'I need to sign up for boxing!'

I didn't choose the guys that were beneath my dignity. But as a law-abiding citizen, I called the police after everything that happened.

A patrol arrived, sorted out the situation, and arrested the thugs. They took me with them to the station to give a statement. 

On my way out, I ran into George Stacey, who was also finishing up his work and heading home.

"What brings you here? Did something happen?"

George asked in surprise.

"Just some punks attacked me, but I managed to defend myself. I needed to file a report and give my statement. Now I'm heading back to where I left my car."

"Let me give you a ride."

"Is Mary not going to nag you for staying late at work?"

"She and the kids went to Boston to visit her mother. I'm living solo at the moment, so there's no one to keep tabs on me." 

He smiled.

"Let's go! Or rather, let's drive."

"Let me guess, when you want to go home, you rush to your family, and suddenly you have urgent matters and emergencies? And when you're alone, work is boring and flies by?!"

"Don't torture me, Chris." 

He waved it off as we started driving. 

"One of my friends says this is called 'Murphy's Law.'"

"I think that concept fits your situation perfectly." 

I laughed.

"You should also start a family. You've got your own car, a job, money; you're a good guy, you cook better than my wife. Just because you're overweight doesn't mean you should sit in despair!"

"I'm not."

"Am I imagining things, or does someone want to lie to the authorities? Come on, Chris! Mary read your strange complexes like an open book. And, of course, she collaborated a bit with the investigation."

"Or maybe we should call it 'ratting out a friend'?" 

I smiled.

"Don't stray from the topic!"

"George, let's skip the matchmaking, I'm only twenty-seven. I have my whole life ahead of me."

"I know. That's why I advise you not to bury your head in the sand. Mary is coming on Saturday, and on Sunday, it's Gwendolyn's birthday. You're invited too. There's no way you can refuse, so be at our place by noon sharp. If by then you've found a girlfriend, or I don't know, maybe even a boyfriend, you can both come."

'Are they all kidding me?!'

"I'm straight!"

I protested immediately at the insinuations.

"I know, but I just wanted to make sure."

"What a tough and uncompromising guy you are." 

I grinned jokingly.

We chatted a bit more, joking and discussing the latest news and the pace of renovations in New York. 

Then we arrived at my destination, where George dropped me off.

I wasn't destined to have fun with the girls at the brothel, so I decided to head straight to my car. 

I hope they haven't taken the wheels off it yet.

"Ding!"

[New Quest: "Knight on a White Car!"

Description: A crime is happening not far from you, with several criminals trying to harass an innocent and drunk girl. Save her.

Reward: 

+200 Relationship with other "saved princesses."

Title: "Knight on a White Peugeot."

1% chance that the person you saved will fall in love with you.]

This is what I love and admire about the System because it manages to leave a loophole for itself with its creator in the "chance" mechanics. 

The same happened with Loki.

However, there's no choice because the girl is alone, and she could be brutally beaten and raped.

I'll have to play the hero again when I really just want to relax…

To be continued…