The mood shifted as my attention shifted to the gold and platinum tickets remaining.
"Are you sure you want to roll more?" she asked softly, her cool hand covering mine.
"It might be bad for the withdrawals again, but I need to be stronger for when Nolan comes back. I also want to see if I can get something to help revive Sebas faster," I said.
I used Tickets Please and pulled out the golden ticket from Sebas's sacrifice, holding it with a somber reverence.
"But I will keep this specific one reserved for him. He should be the one to use it."
Nakime took my hand, pressing it to her chest.
"Ganbatte," she said in an encouraging voice.
The warmth in my heart was enough to drown out the fear. I ripped the four remaining gold tickets in one go.
The withdrawals were a nightmare as my fingers kept twitching in anticipation, a ghost of the 'Gambler' tag trying to reassert itself.
But I had to face the music.
The withdrawals hit immediately. My fingers twitched in anticipation, a ghost of the 'Gambler' tag trying to reassert itself even though I'd toggled it off. My brain screamed for the dice roll, the risk, the double-or-nothing thrill.
The first golden roll stopped.
[Eternal Bleed]
|Elite Trait|
Your body holds a virtually limitless amount of blood and you regenerate blood 100 times faster. You can feed a whole clan of vampires for the rest of their lives or be the ultimate bank for a Hemokinetic.
Suddenly, the blood in my veins thickened, swelling like overfilled water balloons. My blood vessels became visible through my skin, glowing with a deep, pulsating red.
For a moment, I looked exactly like a freshly turned blood demon, but the effect quickly faded.
"Master, are you alright?" Nakime cried out, tears pricking her eye "You looked just like... like when I first turned."
"It is alright, Nakime," I said, trying to lighten the mood even though my hands were still shaking. "It seems I can solve the universe's energy crisis if I get this and my Blood Fuel trait working together."
'Infinite blood-powered electricity. Ragnarök-Tesla would be so proud.'
"Thank the gods," she whispered, her voice trembling with self-loathing. "For a moment, I thought you were turning into an abomination. I do not want you to be like me."
I realized then just how deep Nakime's insecurities ran.
'I need to fix this.'
"Even if I did turn into a demon, I would have you to keep me company in the shade," I joked.
Nakime did not find it funny.
She tightened her grip on my fingers, her voice rising for the first time.
"Do not even joke about that! Master... John... please, never lose your humanity."
"Hey, I promise I won't let it happen. Now, wipe those tears," I said.
I combined a hug with a headpat, both traits activating at once, which seemed to do the trick.
But the gacha did not give us time to breathe before the next roll stopped.
[Ship]
|Elite Familiar|
Ben 10: Ship is an adolescent Galvanic Mechamorph. He possesses an amorphous body that can merge with any technology to reconfigure it while improving its powers.
A flash of green light erupted in the room.
A bulbous mass of black slime with glowing green circuitry lines appeared on the bed. It let out a high-pitched, mechanical yip.
"Ship! Ship!"
The little guy quickly leapt onto my shoulder, nuzzling my neck with his gooey body and wagging a small, semi-solid tail.
I couldn't help but giggle like an idiot.
I picked him up and rubbed what I assumed was his belly. His green eye shifted into a happy half-circle shape, and he barked his name again with pure joy.
"Yeah, I am happy to see you too, little guy," I said. I placed Ship gently in Nakime's arms. "Meet the newest member of the family, Nakime."
Ship looked at her with his circular green eyes, which immediately shifted into happy half-circles. His tail wagged so hard his entire body jiggled.
"Ship?"
I found that I could actually understand the intention behind the sound. It was less language and more empathic communication, like how you just know what a dog wants when it barks a certain way.
"Of course you can go for a walk later," I told him. "Just give me a minute."
Ship nodded enthusiastically and snuggled into Nakime's embrace, finding a comfortable spot to nap.
Nakime looked overwhelmed by the sudden trust the creature showed her.
She began to rub her palms together rapidly to warm them up before hesitantly stroking his back, being careful not to wake him with her strength.
It was a sight so wholesome I was about to sigh in contentment when the next roll finished.
[Job Application Form]
|Common Item|
"Does this scare you?" An otherwise ordinary looking job application form, that when filled with the correct information and handed to an employer will guarantee that the applicant is hired no matter the job or their qualifications, although not guaranteed that they will keep the job. The form loses this effect after being used once.
"Aw hell naw!" I exclaimed, seeing the form appear in my hand like it was a live grenade, as I almost threw it away.
Nakime took it from my hand, but I stopped her from reading it by covering her eye.
"No, don't read it!"
"Wha…what is it, master?" Nakime sounded worried.
"It's the Devil's writing itself," I said, my voice dropping into mock-horror. "This is what Corporate America uses to turn free-willed souls into wage slaves. This piece of paper represents everything I avoided in my past life."
My laughter leaked through the dramatic delivery.
Nakime heard my laughter and relaxed a bit, puffing her cheeks in mock annoyance.
"Master, you gave me a scare."
Ship mirrored her expression, puffing his cheeks too, which just turned him into the cutest alien sludge pup ever.
Reading the description again, I realised this would work too well with Sir CEO, almost frighteningly well.
He could just walk into any Fortune 500 company, apply for a CEO position with this form, and boom. Neel being competent enough, saves time on starting from scratch and as a bonus, I'll have a major corporation under my palm instantly.
"Can't believe a common item can be this useful if paired correctly," I muttered. "Makes me wonder if there are any other synergy combos hiding in the gacha…"
Nakime was still busy methodically petting Ship, her single eye soft with an expression I'd never seen before. Maternal, almost.
Maybe it wasn't so bad to roll in moderation as long as she was beside me.
The hope was short-lived, however, as the final golden roll came to a halt.
[Fate Draw]
|Rare Ability|
Allows you to roll a random number out of 22 and invoke the effect of whichever Major Arcana Tarot Card it landed on. Cooldown: 120 Hours.
A bitter, metallic taste filled my mouth as I read the description.
The ability installed itself in the back of my head, settling in the exact place where I always felt the damn itch to gamble.
I felt disgusted.
"You really must be enjoying the irony, aren't you?" I hissed at the empty air. "You two-bit piker. I see you, RNGesus. Real fucking cute."
Poor Nakime and Ship were both startled at the sudden hate in my voice.
Nakime gently placed Ship in my lap and wrapped her arms around me from behind, her chin resting on my shoulder.
"That's enough for today, master." she said softly, but there was steel underneath the gentleness.
"But..but… we still have 2 platinum tickets", I said with a voice torn between desperation to roll and scratch that itch to the bone and hope to keep my control.
But Nakime, as always, knew my heart.
She kissed me deeply, her cool lips pressing against mine until my racing heart finally calmed down. The fog of desperation cleared as I focused entirely on her presence, her touch, her smell, everything.
"Master, I was thinking…" she stopped twirling her hair nervously, desperately trying to shift my mind to anything else other than the remaining tickets.
"My first date was ruined by that slu…Kate and Cecil interrupting us. So…."
"So?" I asked.
"So, can we go on another date?"
I just looked at her blushing face as my hands instinctively pinched her cheeks gently.
"My my Nakime, you certainly are bold", I said as a relief filled me seeing the itch start to fade away.
Ship barked happily in my lap, his tail wagging.
The two platinum tickets sat, unrolled and tempting.
But for now, I had something better to look forward to.
[A/N]: And with our Rolling session has come to an end... for now, at least.
The Index is updated for your convenience, yet I see us having fallen out of the top 10 again.
So get those STONES pumping!!
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