Chapter 287: Fingered by fate (1/2)
*Fwoosh*
While staring at Willy as he morphed from an ominous black ball to a circular wheel, Ben was standing in a Crane Kick stance...
He had sweat on his forehead, not having realized how challenging it was to balance himself using this technique. However, he couldn't use Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu on a gargantuan sausage snake, so he figured he might as well Karate Kid the thing...
After all, at least going by canon, the Crane Kick would be effective against Cobra Kock…
It didn't matter if the move blatantly violated the rules either… Hundreds of people in attendance would ignore that without argument and award Ben the fight… Besides, this wasn't a karate tournament. This was his bedroom.
In any case, on this occasion, Willy had been well-behaved, leading to Ben not having to unleash his wrath on the world through a bunch of failed sequels and remakes…only finding his way in a budget YouTube sequel series decades later.
Now though, things became simpler. Lowering his arms and hanging leg as he exhaled, Ben took a few seconds trying to look mysterious, in the traditional martial arts style...before focusing on the genuine task at hand.
He understood his priorities though, with his first one being obvious—looking cool…but since he'd already achieved that, he walked over to Willy and focused on his second priority—getting rewards. So when Ben reached the wheel's lever, he didn't hesitate, and pulled it.
*Whir*
Stepping back, he observed as the wheel spun amongst its infinite options of treasures and d*cksasters…
This time though, Ben still ended up with a lucky outcome.
A minute later, when Willy disappeared, Ben was holding onto three items that would seem worthless, if their texture wasn't reminiscent of dazzling rubies…
Shining in his hand, these were three pieces of long strings. Yet, they were not the kind grandma sewed into a sweater. When they touched his skin, Ben got the subtle feeling he was in the presence of a massive force, one that could swallow him with ease, like the first time he entered the ocean as a toddler.
Then when he read their description, he understood why these strings were so special, because they were all epic grade!
[Red String of Fate(Consumable, Epic) x3 - Tie the string around your ankle and someone else's to link your fates together, increasing the odds of encounters. The length of time for the strengthened connection will be up to a day, though possibly much shorter, depending on how much fate energy is expended to facilitate meetings]
Ben spread a wide grin, because it was an epic consumable! No, even better than that, there were three! Fate was really on his side this time!
Although a consumable wasn't as useful as items or skills, these lustrous strings were still worthy of their epic rating. After all, the system was there to help Ben pick up women, and the key to that was finding opportunities with them. Well, that's where these strings came in. These treasures meant he could set up such opportune encounters with any three beauties he chose!
With three red strings of fate, he would no longer have to bate!
…
Finally, Ben had reached the end of the rewards, and the results were beyond satisfying. Now, he appreciated what his parents meant when they said listen to your teachers. Every time he heard Professor Tremblay and Miyuki moan...it was like rewards were falling on him! Thus, if it wasn't clear before, it was now; There was no better place than university to exercise his head...
However, as his body forced him into a yawn, it reminded Ben how exhausted he was and that he needed sleep. In any case, this week wouldn't be a boring one, because with his newly-acquired mid level multiplier for personal talent, he could take photography and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to the next level!
***
The next day, Ben was once again inside the student extracurriculars buildings of NYU where the Photography Club held its meetings. On this occasion though, he hadn't been lured here by bunny buttcheeks…
Instead, he was here due to his agreement with Charlotte, who was next to him and had been quieter than usual since they sat down. He noticed she was wearing more makeup too, even stranger for her. 'She wants to look good for the critique, huh…'
On occasion, she would sneak glances at him, at which point he'd reassure her that everything would be fine. He wasn't surprised she was nervous about the club's current session though.
Today, the club would critique portrait photos as a warm-up and learning session for the upcoming competition, which Ben had convinced Charlotte to enter with him. Earlier, he made her email him the pictures she'd snapped of him, which he submitted to the critique as he also enrolled them in next week's contest. Soon, they'd receive feedback on those photos.