The hundred-dollar bill in his pocket felt heavier than gold.
Liam Kade had never held something so alive. Not because of its value — but because of what it meant.
That win wasn't luck.
It was real.
The system… was real.
The streets outside Marv's bar were empty as Liam limped back to the run-down motel he called home. The cold night air scraped at the open wound on his cheek. Blood crusted beneath his eye. He hadn't even wiped it clean.
But he was smiling.
Not the smile of a man who'd escaped death.
The smile of a man who had just cheated it.
The MotelRoom 12A. Third floor. Broken lock. Smelled like bleach and piss.
He pushed the door open with his shoulder and collapsed onto the sunken mattress. The springs creaked like they were warning him not to come back.
His room was a graveyard of bad decisions — pizza boxes stacked like tombstones, liquor bottles lining the window sill, a half-cracked TV buzzing static in the corner.
The lamp flickered. It always flickered. It hadn't stopped flickering in months.
But tonight, the flicker felt different.
It felt like the universe was… glitching.
Liam lay flat on his back, arms spread out.
He let the silence wrap around him like a burial shroud.
[SYSTEM NOTICE]
User Status: Stabilizing...
Emotion: Curious / Unstable / Hungry
Available Probability Shift: 1 (24h cooldown active)
System Suggestion: Test low-impact environment manipulation
New System Menu Unlocked: Status – Personality Drift
Liam squinted. New words shimmered across the ceiling like god was tagging the drywall with neon spray paint.
Personality Drift: -2 Empathy | +1 Obsession | +3 Pattern Recognition
"What the hell does that mean?"
He sat up slowly.
"Wait. Are you… changing me?"
The system didn't answer.
It never spoke unless it wanted to.
And that scared him more than anything.
The First TestThe next morning, Liam walked down to the corner store. Same place he used to shoplift ramen when he couldn't afford dinner. The owner, Mr. Yu, had caught him more than once — never called the cops, but made sure Liam felt the shame.
Today, Liam had a dollar in his pocket.
And a system in his head.
[Tilt Probability?]
Target: Scratch-off ticket rack
Type: Low-Impact Luck Shift
Outcome Range: $0 – $1000
Success Probability: 0.42% → Modified: 33.88%
Liam didn't think.
He tapped the rack casually. Let his fingers pause on the fourth ticket from the right — a pink one called "CASH CHAOS."
He bought it.
Scratched it outside.
$500.
He laughed. Not loudly. Just a breathy, bitter sound.
And for the first time… he didn't feel bad.
Memory: The Family TableOnce, long ago, there had been family dinners.
His mother, stern and overworked, would light a single candle. "For blessings," she used to say. She was a nurse. She believed in the system. Wake up. Work hard. Pay bills. Die quietly.
His father? Gone. Disappeared when Liam was twelve. Left a note that said:
"Some men aren't meant to be tamed. Your luck will come, boy. Just watch."
Liam used to read that note every night. Now, he didn't need to.
Because now he was luck.
Widening the FieldThe next three days were spent testing.
He'd sit in crowded cafés and try to shift who got called for free coffee.
He'd stare at traffic lights until they changed faster than they should.
He played online poker on a burner phone — never too much, never too flashy. Always just enough to feel it: the pattern bending.
Skill Upgraded: "Edge Tilt" → "Micro-Bias"
Effect: Influence multiple small-scale probability events at once
Cooldown: 12 hours
The world didn't fight back.
And that made him bold.
Back to the PitHe returned to Marv's pit on a Thursday.
It smelled worse than usual — like sweat, beer, and stale ambition.
"Back already?" Marv said, raising an eyebrow. "Figured you'd OD by now."
Liam didn't answer. Just dropped two hundred in cash on the table.
"Game."
The regulars stared.
He wasn't wearing the same hoodie anymore. He'd cleaned up. Shaved. Hell, he even looked taller.
The first hand? He folded. Let them win.
Second hand? He played dumb. Took a loss.
Third hand?
He activated Micro-Bias.
Two subtle shifts. One twitch from a player's eye. A bad shuffle by the dealer. Cards slipped the way he needed them to.
Flush.
Win.
They blinked. Marv narrowed his eyes.
"Beginner's luck?"
Liam smiled faintly.
"No such thing."
The First ThreatOutside, later that night, as Liam counted his cash in the alley, a shadow moved behind the dumpster.
A man stepped out — hoodie, scarred jaw, nervous twitch.
"You're messing with things you shouldn't," he rasped.
Liam froze.
"What do you mean?"
"I been watchin' you. There's others like you. System users. People who get… chosen."
"What?"
"But you? You're different. Yours ain't clean. You're playing with The Core. That's not a blessing, bro. That's a curse. A trap."
Liam stepped forward. "Who are you?"
The man shook his head violently.
"I ain't staying. Just… don't trust the wins. They'll cost more than you think."
Then he vanished into the dark like he was never there.
ReflectionThat night, Liam sat in front of his motel mirror.
He stared at himself. At the cut healing on his cheek. At the light behind his eyes that hadn't been there in years.
He had questions.
But he also had control.
That mattered more.
He whispered, not to himself, but to something else.
"Okay, system. Let's make a deal. I give you my body. My mind. My morality. You give me everything."
[Request Acknowledged.]
System Core Awakening: Stage 2 Unlocked
New Perk: "Probability Threading" — Begin sensing high-stakes odds forming in real time.
Warning: Thread exposure may cause hallucinations, time distortion, or cognitive drift.
Liam didn't flinch.
He smiled again.
"Let's tilt the world."