Chapter 98: Lottery Draw, A Stroke of Luck
The next day.
Highland Hotel, Duke's suite.
Reception room.
"This is the contract I'm offering. If you're satisfied, sign it!"
Duke handed the freshly printed and still-warm contract to Twisted Fate. The scent of ink lingered in the air as Twisted Fate toyed with his cards and carefully read through the document.
The terms Duke offered were incredibly generous, far beyond anything Twisted Fate had imagined.
But the price was steep: absolute obedience. During the contract's term, betrayal or desertion of any kind was strictly forbidden.
Any breach of the contract would result in social death, permanent and devastating.
"The conditions are really tempting, I must admit!" Twisted Fate placed the contract down, though suspicion still lingered in his eyes. "But I don't understand this part. What exactly does 'permanent social death' mean?"
"Exactly what it says."
Duke lounged with one leg crossed over the other, idly playing with a jewelry box in his hands. The glittering gems inside made Twisted Fate's eyes glimmer, but he was smart enough to know what was off-limits.
Especially with the young man in front of him. Barely seventeen or eighteen, yet he possessed unfathomable methods and a power that even made the Bloodharbor Ripper wary.
Having been present during Pyke's attack the night before, Twisted Fate had witnessed how much trouble Duke's attacks caused the specter.
Pyke had shrugged off Graves' attacks with ease, but when it came to Duke, he didn't dare take even a single hit lightly.
Even Twisted Fate's magic couldn't affect Pyke, yet this teenager could.
A terrifying and enviable talent.
"Exactly what it says?"
Twisted Fate scrutinized the contract again, hoping to uncover a loophole.
"No use. There's no legalese or hidden tricks. As for 'social death'..." Duke glanced at the closed door. Graves stood guard outside.
Last night, Duke had Graves hide in the cabin after being absorbed by Neeko's shimmer mark, allowing him to fake his death and survive.
Since then, the big lug seemed even more loyal.
"You heard about that... incident on the streets of Bilgewater a few days ago? That maniac on the loose?"
Twisted Fate narrowed his eyes. "Vaguely."
But when he saw Duke's knowing smile, his heart skipped a beat.
"Don't tell me that was..."
"Exactly. And the 'star' of that tale? He's standing right outside."
"The price of betrayal is way too steep!" Twisted Fate laughed bitterly. Seeing Duke's look, he picked up the feathered pen. "Not that I have a choice."
He signed the contract. Duke took it and extended his hand.
"Wise choice."
Twisted Fate stood up and shook his hand. As they clasped hands, Duke discreetly infused him with another dose of his magic. Twisted Fate, none the wiser, simply smiled.
"Looking forward to working with you, boss!"
"Show your worth, and you'll be rewarded. Now get out and close the door."
"So heartless, boss!"
Twisted Fate joked as he walked out. Graves, cigar in mouth, perked up.
"You signed the contract too?"
"Sure did."
"Great! Then it's time to settle our score."
Twisted Fate knocked on the door. "Boss, can employees settle disputes physically?"
"No. Whoever starts a fight gets tossed overboard and fed to the sharks."
"See?"
Twisted Fate shrugged and tipped his hat. "Looks like you're out of luck, partner."
"We'll see about that."
Graves chuckled as the two walked off, both clearly plotting against the other.
Duke sensed the brewing drama and rubbed his temples.
"Putting those two together is like starting a sitcom."
He cut off his magical connection to the pair and stored away the jewelry he'd been fiddling with. During the contract negotiation, he had passively gained another ten thousand wealth points.
Time for a draw.
It had been a while since his last lottery spin, and his luck had likely accumulated.
"System panel, Tier 1000, ten-draw pull."
A golden mist shimmered in Duke's vision as the premium draw pool emerged. Ten glowing blue orbs flew out, each marked with a question mark.
They lined up neatly in front of him and began to burst open one by one.
Each orb revealed a prize:
[Artificial Intelligence: Red Queen (includes server rig)]
[Silencer]
[Blueprint: Sonic Weapon]
[Absolute Inequality Contract]
[Carbon-Sodium Steel (Type V)]
[Hydraulic Engine]
[Steam Tech: Trinary Core]
[Divine Eye (Left)]
[Chameleon Mask]
[Superman Trial Card (10 seconds)]
"Wahoo!!"
Duke cheered at the results. Even without the others, the Superman Trial Card alone was a jackpot!
Ten seconds might seem short, but for someone as fast as Superman? That was an eternity.
"With this, even Nasus and Renekton together wouldn't survive a single punch!"
He retrieved the Superman Trial Card from his inventory. It shimmered with radiant colors, featuring Superman's bust and the iconic "S" emblem. Animated images played behind him.
"This card alone is worth the ten thousand wealth points."
He carefully returned it to his inventory, then pulled out a test tube containing a translucent liquid and a suspended blue eyeball. Within it swirled micro-scale runes forming overlapping magical arrays like interlocking gears.
Divine Eye (Left)
This artifact revealed truth, pierced illusions and disguises, and enhanced dynamic vision to the point of tracking supersonic targets. Even without surgical implantation, overlapping it with the user's left eye functioned like a scanning tool.
"Perfect as a second Original Sin component."
Duke put the test tube away and drew out the Chameleon Mask. A high-tech item that bonded to skin and altered facial features, a perfect human-skin disguise.
"A neat little gadget."
He returned it to his inventory. In the hands of Ferros spies or Noxian stone-masons, it would be deadly. But Duke preferred direct methods. He'd keep it for later, maybe gift it to Dakora or Camille.
Next was a parchment scroll: the Absolute Inequality Contract. It forced the signer into a magically binding, one-sided agreement.
The blank scroll came with a feathered pen to inscribe whatever terms Duke desired.
"Used right, it's a permanent slave contract."
He stroked the parchment, marveling at how his lottery pulls often reflected his Iron Man template, mostly tech-oriented with a dash of biotech and magic.
Next appeared a glass cylinder containing a portion of Carbon-Sodium Steel in liquid form.
Its purpose: maximum lethality.
Weapons made with it caused endless bleeding and toxic erosion of wounds.
"Perfect for shutting down champions with strong healing factors."
As he stared at the steel, weapon designs flickered in his mind. But first, time to catalog his loot.
He briefly toyed with the Red Queen's portable drive. It could form the backbone of a mercenary guild in Bilgewater and improve coordination via distributed communication tools.
He returned it and pulled out the so-called Silencer. Despite the name, it resembled a stapler. Its true function? Erasing lingering will from flesh.
For instance, if Duke killed Kha'Zix, this tool would cleanse the void energy from the corpse, reducing it to pure biological material.
Originally, it was used by members of a certain foundation to neutralize ancient god flesh.
The Hydraulic Engine could convert salt or fresh water into energy, powering vehicles indefinitely.
To not use it for building a sea vessel would be a waste.
He glanced at the Sonic Weapon Blueprint, which detailed soundwave resonance and piercing attacks. Nasty little tricks for sneak attacks.
Then came the Steam Tech: Trinary Core.
Now this one stumped him.
Even with Duke's current tech prowess, he couldn't fully decipher it. It wasn't just a machine, it reeked of magic and biotech.
Like a perfect fusion of all three disciplines.
Functionally, it resembled his magic energy engine. But this core could transmute any material into steam to power machines.
Terrifying.
Duke stared at the Trinary Core, his mind already leaping ahead.
"This... could be the heart of the next Original Sin. Pride's heart was a Hextech crystal. But this one's no less potent. It could be my next core."
End of chapter...
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