[Name: Locke Broughton (Unique Player)]
[Achievement Points: 27,500 (Used to purchase items in the Achievement Mall)]
[Potential Points: 38,500 (Used to upgrade owned skills)]
[Transcendent Talent: Resilience (Level 1): Your body can withstand significantly greater damage and is completely immune to non-vital small-caliber trauma. Furthermore, upon exiting combat, you will gain vastly accelerated recovery. (Upgrading to Level 2 requires 20,000 Potential Points)]
[Transcendent Skill: Curve Bullet (Advanced): Your marksmanship has become unfathomable and inconceivable! (Upgrading from Blue Quality to Red Quality requires 20,000 Potential Points)]
[Talents: None (Standard)]
[Common Skills: Driving (Advanced), English (Grade 9), History (Grade 9), Math (Grade 9), Chemistry (Grade 10), Shooting (Advanced), Sniping (Advanced)...]
[Current Mission: None!]
For common talents and common skills, the cost of a single upgrade was a fixed 1,000 points. For example, upgrading Shooting (Intermediate) to Shooting (Advanced) this time cost exactly 1,000 Potential Points, the same as boosting his academic subjects.
But Transcendent Talents and Transcendent Skills...
"Motherfucker!"
Locke stared at his Potential Points, then looked at the costs for his Transcendent abilities. "And here I thought I'd struck it rich overnight."
While he still had enough Potential Points to upgrade Resilience or Curve Bullet once more, he decided against it. There was no need to be reckless. He had to look ahead and keep some points in reserve for emergencies. Life in Marvel and DC taught one thing: the unexpected is the only constant.
As for the 30,000 Achievement Points that had vanished into thin air?
Locke had gone on a shopping spree.
He had spotted a Transcendent Class Transfer Voucher—an item that could change his entire professional trajectory. The standard mall price was a staggering 100,000 Achievement Points. However, in the Treasure Discount Store—which frequently offered deep cuts—it was currently listed at an 80% discount.
Opportunity knocks but once; if you miss it, it's gone forever.
Locke didn't hesitate to drop 20,000 Achievement Points to secure it. If used correctly, this "Class Imprint Card" could have miraculous effects. For instance, if he could get close enough to someone like the Ancient One and "imprint" her, he could potentially become a Sorcerer Supreme just like her.
Of course, Locke didn't actually have much interest in this world's magic. In the Marvel universe, using magic always came with a steep price, often involving bargaining with cosmic entities. While Locke agreed with the principle of equivalent exchange, he absolutely did not agree with the idea that his own power should be subject to some interdimensional debt collector.
As for the remaining 10,000 Achievement Points?
Locke picked up several other items from the Treasure Discount Store to replenish his inventory. He bought a Tracking Card at a 90% discount (500 points), a Positioning Card that lasted thirty minutes (also 500 points), and some half-off health potions. These were necessary, routine investments for a man in his line of work.
However...
Locke looked at the Treasure Refresh Voucher in his hand. He then glanced at the store, which he had mostly emptied of useful items; what remained were either things he didn't need or items with discounts too low to be tempting.
Whatever. Let's refresh and see if anything good pops up.
*Ding!*
[Treasure Discount Store Refreshed Successfully!]
[Transcendent Talent Card (50% Off): 50,000 Achievement Points. Can imprint a talent possessed by a target (randomly selected). Talent can be duplicated.]
[Life Planet (10% Off): 9,990,000 Achievement Points. A brand-new life-bearing planet that belongs solely to you. Can be deployed to a specified star system.]
[Wolverine Bloodline (20% Off): 580,000 Achievement Points. This is the Adamantium version, not the bone-claw version. Limited time offer.]
[Emotion Seed (90% Off): 1,000,000 Achievement Points. A mysterious seed that can store and release emotions. Perhaps you can figure out how to use it?]
[Mystery Box (90% Off): 10,000 Achievement Points. Could contain a Supreme God Bloodline worth 100 million, or a health potion worth 200. It's time to find out if you're a King of Luck or a Peasant of Misfortune.]
[Health Potion (50% Off): 100 Achievement Points...]
[Mana Potion (50% Off): 100 Achievement Points...]
[Stamina Potion (50% Off): ...]
"Great!"
Locke's brow twitched as he scrolled through the new items. "As expected, everything I actually want is something I can't afford."
What about the Mystery Box?
Heh.
Locke wasn't usually a gambler. He was the type of person who would feel genuine physical pain if he lost two hundred play-chips in a casual game, let alone risking 10,000 points on a box that could either make him a god or hand him a literal band-aid.
He had only just started accumulating Achievement Points. Who in their right mind would start gambling now? What kind of lifestyle did the system think he had? Did he look like he could afford to play this game?
Ten thousand per pull. Was the system insane?
But...
Locke's gaze drifted. It drifted toward his current point total.
[Achievement Points: 27,500]
Should he take a gamble? Just once?
If he won, if he actually pulled a Sun God's Spark or something similar... what would be the point of staying here and playing around? He could find a quiet planet, lie back, and let people worship him. Wouldn't that be better?
...Wait.
Locke shook his head vigorously, nearly wanting to slap himself. He had only just moved past the hard days. How long had it been since he lived paycheck to paycheck? And now he was already eyeing the mystery boxes?
But!
Locke swallowed hard. Suddenly, a wave of inexplicable confidence washed over him. It felt like... like he was due for a win. This pull was guaranteed to profit.
"Motherfucker!"
Locke felt internally speechless. "When I had no money, refreshing was fine because I couldn't buy anything anyway. Now that I can actually afford it, if I don't buy one, I feel like I'm losing out."
Most importantly, Locke really wanted to know. Was he a lucky person, or was he cursed?
His face in this life was quite—fair and handsome. Maybe his luck reflected that. His Luck stat had always been a constant five out of twenty. Average, but steady.
Just once. This won't become a habit.
Locke took a deep breath, his right hand trembling slightly. With a crisp *ding*, an ancient-looking briefcase appeared directly in his hands. His Achievement Points flowed away like water, freezing at 17,500.
"Alright."
Locke closed the mall interface and took several deep breaths. "Just once. If I win, great. If I lose, I'll take it as a reality check. I'll go back to being an honest worker, accumulating points the hard way. No more shortcuts."
With that thought, he resigned himself to fate. *Click.* He flipped the two latches on the briefcase.
The next second.
Locke's eyes widened. He saw it—the moment the briefcase opened, in the metaphysical space between realities, orbs of light of various colors were jostling and racing toward the box.
It was a frantic competition to see which one would arrive first.
White light.
Blue light.
Red light.
Golden light.
White, Blue, Red, Gold—corresponding to Common, Transcendent, Legendary, and Supreme...
"Gold!"
"Gold!"
"Gold!"
Locke felt like he was watching a high-stakes horse race. He saw the golden light lagging three lengths behind, while the white light was leading the pack, threatening to finish first. He felt like he was losing his mind.
Don't do this to me! Isn't there such a thing as beginner's luck? This is my first box; if you give me a common item, is that even appropriate?
Motherfucker, give me gold! If you give me gold, I'll buy every box I see from now on!
Just then.
*BOOM!*
With a thunderous sound that echoed only in his mind, a blinding radiance dove straight into the mystery box.
The next second!
***
Read 30 Chapters early on P-atreon.com/Redestro666