Chapter 2 Back Among The Living

I find myself standing in a dim room with a round table in the middle. Free from that chair, I move around the room, finding this room take heavy inspiration from Greek and Roman art and decor. "Are you done admiring this room?" Shocked, I turn around toward the voice, and find a cloaked woman with a veil covering her eyes siting at the table. "Welcome, player, and please take a seat" with a wave of her hand the chair move, I take the seat in front of her.

"In this room we will determine your fate and destiny, are you a fighter that can cleave the mountain? Or are you a mage with a wave of his hand bending the element to his will? Or maybe a thief waiting in the dark and strike your opponent without them realizing it, so please roll this die." With that, a twelve sided die appear in front of me, and without hesitation I'm rolling it on the table. After rolling for a second, the die stop on 5 "from now on you are the fighter."

With a wave of her hand, the die disappeared, replaced with a deck of cards now nestling in her hand. She shuffles the card then spread the card face down on the table, "please choose, these card will determine your form." I scan the card one by one, finding them depicting a magic circle with a pentagram made with dense writing of Greek alphabet. (Each card back is pretty much the same, huh, so which one should I choose?) As I'm deep in thought, my intuition nudging me to take the card in the middle.

Without much more thought I flip the card in the middle, trusting my instinct cause it never betrays my trust all these years. With a flash of light, the card flipped up, a picture of a golden rhinoceros beetle drawn on it. "Oh, you have chosen the Golden Beetle, the bringer of wealth and misfortune, with it, you may attain the form of a Magic Swordsman." With another wave of her hand the other card disappear, leaving only the flipped card, I take the Golden Beetle card putting it in my jacket.

"So what is with the Golden Beetle and the bringer of wealth and misfortune?" "Oh, you are the first player that ask, their transformation origin," the woman reply with a hint of surprise in her voice. "I will try to make it short then."

Once upon a time, a trader down on his luck go into the temple of Fortuna asking for an oracle.

As his business failing him, hearing his plea the priest give him an oracle.

"For those that help other, the goddess will bless them with great fortune."

The trader go home feeling dejected by the oracle, thinking it just a gibberish.

On the road home, he meet an old woman who just get robbed.

As he tried to ignore her he remembers the oracle so helped her.

Feeling grateful, the old woman give him a beetle larva, and she said to him.

"Raise these larvae well, as this will grow into a splendid golden beetle that bring you fortune"

And like the old woman say, the larvae grow into a golden beetle that molt gold shell.

Ecstatic he donate the gold to the temple.

Hearing the news, his brother, blinded by greed, kill the trader and steal the beetle.

A noble man learning about the beetle existence kill the brother and take the beetle from him.

The vicious circle continues until one day the beetle fall into the hand of a priest of Fortuna.

The priest sacrifice, the golden beetle as an offering to the goddess.

And the rumor say the beetle become the goddess pet.

"With that, our time have run out, as a gift in your Fate driver there will be 2000 BP in your account and 10 attribute point to spend." As she said that my body becoming translucent, "I have a great time speaking to you, player, so goodbye." And with that goodbye, I lost my consciousness again. (God dammit why don't they stop doing that!) I wake up as in a hospital bed as my sister hold my hand crying. With a weak chuckle "You know, Liz you look ugly when crying."

Excited, hearing me speak, she hug me "ow, that's hurt you know!" She quickly releases her hug, hearing shout in pain "please don't make worry again, you moronic brother." "Yep, that's me your moronic lovely brother" with that quip, she starts laughing. This is Elizabeth or Liz for short is my sister, she studies at New York University in economic major. She stands at 5 foot 4 inches and her hair is black like me, she usually sport a ponytail. She live in the dormitory provided by the university. I hear other people say she's beautiful, but I don't know because in my eye she is the same annoying brat.

"Let me call the doctor, they tell me to call after you wake up." After she says that, she leaves me alone for a minute. Before long, she come back with a doctor in tow, "hello there, my name is Simon, and I will be your doctor. So first we need to do some check up," the doctor start by inspecting the wound and then do a regular check up. "You make a remarkable recovery mister Dan you wake up in only 8 hours after the shooting, and you are lucky, a millimeter to the right the bullet would rip your heart."

"So how long do I need to stay here and how much do I need to pay?" With the Tournament looming I hope to be healed quickly and at the same time I grit my teeth for the financial ruin I will receive. "For now we don't know how long you need to stay, we need to check with a throughout exam to see if your body truly safe. As for the bill, you don't need to pay for the victim you helped graciously paid your medical expense." I sigh in relief hearing I don't need to pay the hospital bill but a little distressed hearing I need to stay here for more than a week.

Seeing me distressed, the doctor tell me to rest for now, and he will come later for another check up. After the doctor gone, Liz greet me goodbye, telling me I need to rest more and don't do anything stupid again. "Oh yeah bro, I put your thing on the night stand, your phone wallet key etc. thing that you bring during the incident, I don't know you're still buying a toy." "Err, what are you talking about?" I look at her confused.

"Eh, isn't this yours?" She take an object from the table and show it to me. A toy dagger with a screen between the handle and blade, I can see a groove fit for 4 6 sided dice in the blade part. (Is that my Fate driver!?) I quietly suppress my excitement, "yes it's mine, so can you give it to me?" She gives me the Fate driver (if I'm not wrong in there's shop option in it, maybe there's something that can heal me?) Seeing me looking excited holding the Fate driver, Liz quipped while chuckling, "you are the same as always bro, getting excited when you receive a new toy."

I can only laugh awkwardly hearing her quip "anyway I have to go now, get well soon don't forget to rest and follow doctor's recommendation, goodbye." Finally, Liz is going back to her Uni, leaving me alone in the hospital.