Maluck drove to a nearby bar, parked his car, and walked in feeling like a man with a mission.
A cold beer and a deep dive into his own System.
The bar was dimly lit, with the low murmur of conversation and clinking glasses filling the air. The faint smell of fried food and wood polish hung in the air. He pushed the door open, the faint jingle of the bell above announcing his arrival.
He slid onto a stool at the bar, the wood cool under his palms. The bartender, a tall man with a scruffy beard and a permanent scowl, gave him a nod. “What’ll it be?” he grunted.
Maluck smiled. “Whatever’s on tap,” he said, settling in. It was a simple choice, but sometimes that’s all you needed.
The bartender didn’t need to be asked twice. He filled a frosted pint glass with a smooth amber liquid and slid it over to Maluck. The beer had a slight foamy head, and Maluck took it gratefully, savoring the coolness as it met his lips.
So far, things had been crazy. He had more Luck Points than he’d ever had in his life, a skill set that now included “Scammer Slayer” and something called “Garbage Combat,” and a growing understanding that his own bad luck had been a real, measurable thing this whole time.
He scrolled through his stats, looking over all the boosts and changes from the past day.
Wait—Garbage Combat.
He’d assumed it was some weird, gimmicky joke skill about using trash as a weapon, but hadn’t actually looked at the details.
It was time for a full scan.
With his beer in one hand and his System display hovering in his vision, he got ready to see just how much of a mess his skill set had become.
STATS
Luck Level: 1 (70/100)
Kinda Unlucky – You step in a puddle right as you leave home, but at least it’s just water. Probably.
Bad Luck Points (BP) 29
Luck points (LP) 133
Strength (Str): 1.07
Intelligence (Int): 1.15
Charisma (Cha): 0.98
Health (HP): .099
Dexterity (Dex): 1.02
Wisdom (Wis): 1.11
Constitution (Con): 1.02
Endurance (End): 1.05
Perception (Per): 1.11
Inventory
Bad luck Bracelet
The Probability Charm – While wearing it, any event you want to happen gets a 10% boost in probability. Stacks with other Luck items.
The Luck Siphon Stone – When touched to someone, it sucks off their luck and adds it to your own. (Recharging)
***
SKILLS
Board Games: Good
Alcohol Tolerance: Above Average
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
Firearms: Above Average
Tactics & Strategy: Excellent
Survival Skills: Above Average
Computers & Hacking: Decent (Self-Taught)
Explosives Handling: Average (Knows just enough to be dangerous)
Historical Knowledge (Military): Excellent
Pop Culture Trivia: Exceptional
Sarcasm: Master Level
Piloting (Drones): Good
Piloting (Vehicles): Average
Cooking (Rations & Campfire Meals): Above Average
Hand-to-Hand Combat: Good
Fitness Level: Above Average (Stronger than he looks, but prefers not to run)
Improvisation: Excellent (Can MacGyver a solution out of duct tape and sheer willpower)
Weapon Maintenance: Above Average
Gaming (FPS & Strategy): Exceptional (Claims it’s “training”)
Memorizing Obscure Facts: Excellent
Improvisation Skill Unlocked:
Garbage Combat
You’ve officially mastered the fine art of turning literal trash into tactical weapons. When life doesn’t give you a sword, you make do with a half-empty soda can, a greasy napkin, or whatever else is lying around.
Your ability to weaponize everyday junk has significantly improved. You instinctively spot bottles, wrappers, discarded fast food containers, and anything remotely throwable as potential tools of chaos. If a fight breaks out and you’re unarmed, you won’t be for long—because trash is everywhere.
Your accuracy with improvised projectiles has increased. That crumpled burger wrapper? Deadly distraction. That half-eaten sandwich some guy tossed aside? Perfect mid-fight insult. A full garbage bag? More effective than a punching bag if thrown correctly.
You’ve also gained a sixth sense for weaponizing your environment. A trash can lid? That’s a shield now. A loose piece of cardboard? Tripwire in the making. A greasy fast-food bag? Blinding attack if timed right.
Of course, there are limitations. Garbage is still garbage. You’re not going to win against an actual warrior using only old ketchup packets and soda cups—unless you get really creative. If you get too cocky, you might just end up covered in the trash you were trying to use as a weapon.
Bottom line? You are now the undisputed champion of trash-fueled combat.
Scammer Slayer
Congratulations! You’ve officially ascended from “gullible fool” to “walking scam detector.”
Your experience with con artists, grifters, and shady dealers has sharpened your instincts. No longer will you fall for rigged games, fake mystical artifacts, or limited-time-only deals that are always available. You now have the power to sniff out deception, counter it, and—if you’re feeling particularly spiteful—make the scammer wish they’d never laid eyes on you.
The moment someone tries to cheat you, the System flags it. The guy “just trying to help”? Liar. The investment opportunity that’s “too good to pass up”? Fraud. That “one-of-a-kind artifact infused with cosmic energy”? Dollar store trinket. You see through scams now, almost like a sixth sense, and better yet, you don’t just detect them—you call them out.
You’ve developed a Bullshit Reflex, an instinctive ability to shut down scams in the most humiliating way possible. Mockery? Check. Dramatic pauses? Essential. Making them stammer in public? Oh, absolutely. Why just walk away when you can turn the tables? If you play your cards right, you can trick the scammer into playing themselves, whether it’s by using their own tactics against them or making them lose their own money.
Thinking under pressure has become second nature. Lies, loopholes, and ways to flip a bad situation in your favor come naturally now. The sharper your wit, the funnier and more effective your counterattack.
Every time you expose a scammer, you get a small boost to Luck Points. The universe approves of your pettiness.
Of course, there are limits. It doesn’t work on honest people—if you try, you’re just being a jerk. Higher-level con artists might require more effort to dismantle. And if you get too cocky, you could overplay your hand and make a fool of yourself.
Bottom line? You are now every scammer’s worst nightmare.
***
‘Wow. I didn’t expect to see such changes in a day,’ thought Maluck.
After scanning his stat sheet with all the bonuses, upgrades, and improvements, he almost felt like a completely different person from the guy who had woken up with a hangover yesterday morning.
Luck Points: 133. Just yesterday, he’d been struggling to keep any, and now? He had enough to actually buy something useful from the System Store.
Charisma: Still below average, but inching closer to normal. Maybe one day, people wouldn’t instinctively doubt him when he said something important.
Improvisation Skills: Upgraded. Now he had Garbage Combat and Scammer Slayer under his belt. Not exactly the most dignified of skills, but damn useful—one had helped him survive a mugging, the other had saved him from dropping another thousand bucks on a scam. Practicality over prestige.
His Wisdom had gone up too. Probably from realizing that blind generosity needed a bit of common sense. And, you know, not trusting every mystical old man with a storefront.
He’d come a long way in just 24 hours.
And somehow, he felt like things were just getting started.
***
Now it was time to leave Calgary. Or at least, it should have been.
But after one beer turned into two, and the clock in the bar reminded him that it was already pretty damn late, Maluck had to accept the obvious.
Yeah. No driving tonight.
And absolutely, under no circumstances, was he going back to the Pretty Good Western. No way in hell was he risking another checkout scam, another late fee debate, or another front desk employee who looked at him like he was the dirt under their shoes.
‘Wait… I have the Probability Charm.’
A grin spread across his face.
It gave him a 10% boost toward his desired outcome. And his desired outcome?
A decent hotel. Maybe even a great one.
He tapped the System. “Alright, Probability Charm. Work your magic.”
