[TIME REMAINING TILL 'LIMITED TIME EVENT' EXPIRATION: 1 DAY]
Over the past four days, Felix's methods hadn't changed. His money came from dice scams and targeted muggings, but nothing stayed consistent long enough to build on.
He exhaled through his nose, irritation tightening in his chest as he looked at his current earnings. Felix closed his eyes. The number didn't change, even when he stopped looking at it.
[BALANCE: ~368 SB's]
Alright. First option was to keep doing what he'd been doing. Dice games, low-level muggings, small gains stacked over time. It was slow and unreliable.
Second option was to stop aiming low entirely and start targeting higher-value individuals. It was riskier, but the return would actually matter.
Third option. . he paused at that thought. System reliance.
The idea barely had time to settle before he dismissed it outright. Before the day ended, he should buy a casual and a competitive spin. That would leave him with enough to act as a safety net. He needed something to fall back on if everything else went wrong.
There were still practical concerns too. Food. Water. Basic survival. Hell wasn't forgiving about either, and Barnaby had already made it clear — tap water wasn't worth the risk unless you wanted to gamble with your insides.
Felix pushed himself up slightly, opening his eyes to see the shop empty. For his contributions, Barnaby trusted him enough to leave him unattended for extended periods of time.
Of course, Barnaby still checked the store regularly, making sure nothing had gone missing or been damaged.
While Felix was stretching, the bell above the door chimed. Watching from the corner of his eye, he saw a demon step into the store, his gaze drifting across the shelves without settling on anything in particular.
The demon clicked his tongue, shifting his weight before stepping up to the counter. He picked up one of the cheaper items, turning it in his hand like he didn't care for it.
"Still doing that thing outside?" he asked, casual.
Felix pushed himself up a little more, just enough to look at him properly. "Sometimes."
The demon snorted, setting the item down for a second before picking it back up again. There was a small pause, a flicker of hesitation."Bought something," he muttered, half to himself. "That still counts, right?"
"Depends on what you bought."
The demon huffed, digging into his pocket before tossing a few souls onto the counter. More than the item was worth. Felix's eyes flicked down to the money, then back up. ". .Yeah."
The demon grabbed the item and turned toward the door. The bell chimed again as he left. Felix watched him go, his expression unreadable. A few seconds passed before his gaze shifted to the street beyond the glass. There were already a couple people lingering further down.
It had started days ago.
The first day, it was just a game. A few dice rolls out front, nothing more than something mildly addicting for certain demons that reinforced small stakes.
The second day, he moved closer to the shop. Not blocking the entrance, but close enough that anyone walking by had to see it. The results were minor, but noticeable. Some stayed. Some watched. A few played.
By the third, he adjusted the rules, beginning to tie the game to the store. Anyone who bought something could roll again. It wasn't framed as anything major. It was a small benefit, but enough to push people who were already considering staying.
Felix's gaze drifted back to the counter, to where the soul-bucks still sat. People didn't like walking away when they already felt halfway invested. That much hadn't changed, even here. They bought something cheap, something they didn't care about, just to justify staying. Then they rolled again. One turn became two. Two became 'one more.'
With how things worked, losses overtook wins exponentially. At that point, Felix didn't need to rig anything. The structure handled it for him.
The key wasn't the game — it was the loop. By the time they realized they weren't ahead, they were already trying to fix it. And fixing it meant spending again.
On the fourth day, he pushed it further. Certain items gave better returns. Not enough to look suspicious, but enough to be noticed. The first few who picked up on it were easy to identify. After that, others followed.
Felix watched it happen in real time with a hidden grin. Once enough people believed something was worth it, the rest stopped questioning it. The system wasn't complete, but it was working.
With the fifth day, Felix left things as they were. Instead of changing anything, he observed. He paid his full attention to who stayed after losing and who didn't. Who bought once and stopped, and who kept going. Who hesitated at the counter, and who didn't think at all.
Patterns formed quickly.
Some only played when others were watching. Some only spent after losing twice in a row. Others needed to see someone else win before committing anything at all.
Adjusting around that, he made sure certain games behaved differently depending on who was present. He let some run longer when people gathered, and cut others short when they didn't. Keeping it looking fair took constant adjustment, but it was a chore he assigned himself and one he was familiar with.
Eventually, the ones who hesitated started staying longer, and the ones who lost early didn't leave as quickly as they had before. Through incomplete progress, things improved.
Still, it wasn't enough. Not for a one-day deadline.
Felix gaze lowered as the thought settled. The system would pay off with time. But time wasn't something he had the luxury of relying on. Which brought him back to the other option.
[COMMENCING: 1x CASUAL DRAW]
[COMMENCING: 1x COMPETITIVE DRAW]
[PULL COMPLETE]
[RARITY: RARE (RANK: R)]
[ITEM: LOSS FORECAST DECK]
[DESCRIPTION: A deck of cards bound by value-aspected mechanics. When the User commits to a defined course of action and draws from the deck, a direct statement appears on the face of the card describing the most immediate unfavorable outcome tied to that decision within a limited timeframe. Repeated draws within a short period degrade clarity and consistency.]
[RARITY: COMMON (RANK: C)]
[ITEM: POCKET VALUE COUNTER]
[DESCRIPTION: A handheld device that provides a rough estimate of the immediate monetary value carried by nearby individuals. When the User points the device at a specific target, it scans a limited radius and outputs a fluctuating numerical range tied to perceived worth.]