Wayne POV:
Upon returning to Vizima, my first priority, naturally, was reuniting with old friends. Top of that list, and likely the most eager for my return, was a certain sorceress who'd been starved of my company for two long months.
Reaching Keira's mansion at noon, I strode through the gate, five brand-new pairs of Camouflage glasses clutched in my hand. These were custom-made by Keira at my request, and a familiar glint of "no free lunches in the world" flickered in my mind. Every favor comes with a price, and this one was no different.
February had already begun, and with March looming – the month I was due to meet with my fellow Wolf School witchers for a joint assault on the underwater city of the Drowned Ones – time was a precious commodity. This year's agenda was packed: bolstering our forces, honing our skills, the banquet in Cintra... and whispers hinted at a potential resurgence of the Striga situation. All in all, my leisurely days of the latter half of last year were a thing of the past. Urgent matters demanded my attention.
On the third morning back in Vizima, I awoke with habit guiding my hand to the twelve-sided die, resting on my nightstand. Without looking, I gave it a casual toss. Glancing down, I found the uppermost face displayed a surprising 35. This sparked a flicker of delight. To confirm my hunch, I repeated the throw three more times, each roll revealing an impressive sequence: 36, 34, and 33. Four consecutive rolls exceeding a score of negative ten. This was a sign, a confirmation that today was my lucky February day – the day I'd designated for my personal "unboxing."
Seeing the dodecahedron's rolls as a good omen, I wasted no time. Up and about, I washed up and donned new clothes. A brazier was lit, filled with the most expensive incense I possessed. Fresh melons and fruits were arranged on a makeshift altar. Sitting on the floor in a meditative pose, I began a prayer to the Continent's deities. While unsure of its effectiveness, it offered a sense of ritual. I even envisioned a dedicated unboxing room in the backyard someday, complete with a top-notch prayer chamber – piety would be the centerpiece.
Preparations complete, I turned my attention to the treasure chests stored within my system. Since leaving Vizima late last year, I'd accumulated over a hundred common chests by February. No expert-tier ones, but that didn't dampen my enthusiasm.
With a click, a normal chest yielded its contents.
Ding!
[Normal Treasure Chest] x 10.
Another click, another ten chests yielded the same. The pattern continued ten times in a row, leaving only five ordinary chests remaining.
Then came a chime!
Obtained: 143 Oren, 10x Explosive tagss.
Ding! 138 Oren.
Ding! 148 Oren, 15x Destiny Coins.
Ding! Obtained: 153 Oren, 5x Skeleton Summoning Scrolls.
As I finished unpacking, a mountain of loot materialized around me. The sheer volume silenced the usual system notification chimes. A momentary surprise gave way to a triumphant fist pump and a hearty laugh. My lucky day was in full swing! A quick scan revealed a hundred chests yielding ten sets of ten items each, resulting in a near-perfect drop rate. While these were ordinary items from another world, their sheer quantity spoke volumes about the power of my luck attribute.
Upgrading my Gwent deck seemed like the most logical first step. Perhaps it was time to finally schedule some long-overdue Gwent matches. Humming a tune of unknown origin, I delved into my prizes with childlike glee.
First up: coin. From experience, common chests usually yielded 10-16 Oren each. Today, blessed by my lucky streak, each box coughed up an average of 18 Oren, totaling a hefty 1800 Oren. This sum nearly matched a regular witcher's earnings for two or three years! Take Berengar, the Wolf School's unluckiest soul – during our conversations, I learned he sometimes went an entire year scraping by on less than 100 Oren. Barely enough to keep his gear in repair, he often faced hunger and homelessness. It solidified my belief that even without otherworldly items, the system's basic rewards and daily tasks offered a powerful advantage, essentially a bottomless coin purse fueling my monster-hunting endeavors.
.....
Stuffing the coins into his enchanted pouch, Wayne surveyed his remaining wealth. With his previous savings, the golden gleam now amounted to a five-figure sum, filling nearly a quarter of the pouch's capacity. The sheer volume of his loot highlighted the limitations of his current storage. He yearned for equipment with enhanced capacity. Unfortunately, inquiries with Keira and Triss proved fruitless. While the Continent possessed teleportation magic through portals, the concept of a portable, expandable bag remained elusive.
Similar items, if they existed at all, were likely relics from other worlds, brought in by converging celestial bodies. These were exceedingly rare, coveted by royalty and powerful mages alike. Without significant strength, possessing such treasures would only invite unwanted attention.
Without a system-granted miracle, acquiring spatial equipment through conventional means seemed impossible with his current resources. Turning his attention back to the scattered loot, Wayne began meticulously sorting through the otherworldly items following the system's instructions. Ten palm-sized symbols, inscribed with indecipherable characters, were the first items. Consulting the system's guidance, Wayne identified them as combat tools from a specific ninja world. They functioned simply – either ignited with an open flame or triggered by a mystical energy called "Chakra".
Though the specific power remained unknown, their lightweight nature made them ideal for stealthy attacks, potentially surprising unsuspecting foes.
The next item was a collection of fifteen peculiar coins, each split evenly into gold and silver halves. Raising an eyebrow, Wayne sought the system's explanation.
The Destiny Coin – an artifact from the continent of Arad. It pulsed with a strange energy, hinting at a connection to both divine and demonic forces. The system's description warned of a gamble: a 50% chance of suffering a painful lightning strike upon use, and the remaining 50% offered a chance at angelic healing.
A pang of recognition shot through Wayne.
This was a relic from his past life, from a popular game called "Dungeon Fighter." While he'd never used such an item, in reality, an inexplicable intuition told him it suited his lucky streak perfectly – a gamble tailor-made for him.
Next came five scrolls of skeletal summoning, hailing from the world of Elder scrolls. Perhaps pilfered from another Dragonborn, these scrolls held the power to animate a fallen warrior's corpse for a day, turning it into a skeletal servant.
The remaining loot comprised a menagerie of items: medium healing potions from the world of Diablo, magic missile scrolls from the world of Heroes, hearty meals from Middle-earth, and throwing knives honed in the fires of Dark Souls. Some were mundane, lacking any magical properties.
But it was the final item, an unassuming stone etched with cryptic runes, that truly stunned Wayne. The system's description identified it as a Hearthstone, an artifact from the world of Azeroth. Staring at this ordinary-looking stone, a thought gnawed at him: did such a powerful artifact truly belong in a common treasure chest?