Surviving These Unfair Scenarios [LITRPG - DIMENSION HOPPING]

The crowd around the makeshift arm-wrestling table hummed with anticipation; their murmurs were a low current of excitement that surged with every twitch of the straining muscles. In the center of it all, locked in a brutal test of strength, were Drake and the enormous, burly man who called himself 'Hammer' Gorok.

Gorok, a mountainous figure of sculpted muscle, strained against the blond. His vast shoulders rippled under a sweat-soaked tank top, veins like thick ropes standing out on his neck and forehead. His face, a roadmap of scars, was contorted in a grimace of pure exertion. Drake, in contrast, looked almost deceptively lean. He had shed his jacket, his formal shirt sleeves rolled up to reveal arms that, while clearly toned and powerful from intense martial arts training, lacked the sheer, intimidating bulk of his opponent. Yet, their clasped hands, glistening with sweat, remained locked in an unyielding stalemate.

Neither man seemed to gain an inch. The heavy wooden table groaned under the immense, unseen pressure, its surface already showing faint cracks. The air around them crackled with raw, physical force, a palpable tension that silenced the surrounding Trade Nexus's usual cacophony. Gorok's face began to show the first subtle signs of fatigue, a flicker of pain and a slight tremor in his jaw, betraying the monumental effort… He was beginning to falter, just barely.

While the titans strained, a sense of nervous urgency rippled through the onlookers. Kazue, having just pushed her way to the front, stared at Drake with wide, bewildered eyes.

"Drake?!"

She exclaimed, her voice barely audible over the collective grunts of the wrestlers and the murmurs of the crowd.

"What's going on?!"

She turned, her gaze falling upon Angela, who stood beside her friend, rubbing her temples with a clear expression of annoyance while Falk was perched on her head.

The woman sighed a weary sound.

"It's… a long story."

She muttered, her voice clipped with irritation.

"We found a shop that does indeed sell Plot Devices. But there's a slight problem with the price."

She glanced back at the arm-wrestling match, a subtle frown creasing her brow.

"The shopkeeper didn't have the specific L-rank Plot Device we need, but he confirmed that one of that caliber wouldn't cost less than a hundred thousand points."

Kazue's eyes widened.

"One hundred thousand points?!"

The number was staggering. Their entire team, after four scenarios, had barely accumulated a fraction of that.

"Exactly…"

Angela affirmed, a grim set to her jaw.

"I thought we might have anticipated this, but it appears my estimation of... communal resources was flawed. Drake here only has a little over ten thousand points himself, and he admitted he doubts if even your entire team's combined points would reach that range."

Her voice held a hint of apology, a rare display of vulnerability. Kazue's shoulders slumped.

"Yeah, it's true. We… we don't have that much."

Their points were usually spent on immediate needs: basic skills, items, gear upgrades, even personal subplots... They hadn't stockpiled a fortune. Angela sighed again, running a hand through her hair.

"Right. My apologies. I forgot you're all still technically quite new to the system's true economy."

She paused, then offered a piece of information that might provide a solution.

"Your lobby, however, might have an advanced function you haven't unlocked yet, something called a 'Safety Bank'. It allows users to collectively store points for a set number of scenarios. You can't use those points during that time, but you gain interest on the amount stored and the duration it's frozen."

It was a common strategy for veteran teams to build long-term wealth, a safeguard against sudden expenses or a means to fund a truly massive purchase.

At that moment, Meera and Katya, having pushed their way through the throng, joined the conversation. Meera, having more experience with the system's more shadowy mechanics, intervened.

"And that's not the only way users hoard points, dear."

She said, her voice a low, knowing murmur.

"Many veteran teams also collect points by stealing them. Using various Plot Devices specifically designed for that purpose in collab scenarios. That's why users rarely carry massive amounts of points with them. It's a prime target."

Her words, delivered with a casual frankness, painted a grim picture of the cutthroat underworld of the system's point economy. Kazue's eyes widened further.

"Stealing points?! Why would anyone even need so many points, anyway?"

She blurted out, genuinely bewildered.

"I mean, sure, there are expensive things, but everything we've seen in our shop has been… affordable, one way or another. Even A-rank treasures like Adam's parasite were within reach if we pooled our resources."

She thought of the immense power Adam had wielded, gained for a relatively modest cost in their limited experience. However, Angela and Meera exchanged a subtle glance, then a ripple of contained amusement, a shared, knowing smile, passed between them. Kazue and Katya looked at each other, not understanding their muted laughter.

After a moment, Meera composed herself, still with a faint smile.

"What you've seen, dear, is basically the bare minimum. The beginner's catalog, so to speak."

She explained with a gentle voice, then she paused and asked.

"For example, all the skills in your shop, those are all Level 1, correct?"

Kazue nodded, a slow realization dawning on her.

"Yes."

Meera continued

"And the items they sell, do any of them have a '+' in their name, or a suffix like 'True' or 'Superior'?"

Kazue hesitated, then, after a moment of thought, recalled her own experiences.

"No…"

She said.

"But now that you mention it… I have a skill that, during a scenario, transformed into an 'enhanced' version."

Angela nodded.

"Exactly. That's how almost all skills and items function. The reason you've been buying 'cheap' things is because you're acquiring them in their initial, base stage. You're expected to improve them yourselves through various means. The truly expensive items, the ones costing tens of thousands of points, are for purchasing skills or objects that are already at an advanced, often perfected, level. Things that have been refined, upgraded, or evolved far beyond their original form."

Her words painted a new, daunting picture of the system's true progression. The 'affordable' items were just the starting blocks, not the finished products.

Kazue fell silent with her mind reeling from the revelation. Even Katya looked thoughtful with a hint of surprise in her eyes. This was a layer of the system's mechanics they had never encountered, a deep, hidden complexity that put their entire journey into a new, overwhelming perspective. They were still, truly, beginners.

Finally, Kazue broke her silence, returning to the immediate, baffling situation.

"Okay, but then what does all this have to do with Drake arm-wrestling some random guy?"

She blurted out, her voice still laced with a hint of bewilderment. Angela coughed, a soft, embarrassed sound, clearly reflecting on the conversation's tangent.

"Right, well…"

She began, a faint blush rising on her cheeks.

"That's because Drake... he was rather loudly proclaiming that we needed points. A group of users overheard him. They suggested that one way to quickly increase points in the Nexus is through various forms of gambling and betting."

She sighed, her gaze returning to the straining figures.

"One thing led to another, and they challenged him to a round of arm-wrestling, betting his ten thousand points."

Her tone was exasperated.

"It was clearly a scam, and a very obvious one. That muscular man is using passive physical enhancement skills, and he even seems to have some other race mixed into his genes, judging by his aura. I tried to stop Drake, but he accepted anyway."

She shook her head in disbelief.

"In the Nexus, bets are usually handled by the casino, but for something as small as this, even a simple agreement between two parties can be accepted by the system."

She looked at Drake, still locked in the stalemate.

"What I didn't expect, however, was for Drake to actually be resisting him like this."

The tension in the crowd, previously focused on the sheer physical exertion, now shifted. A new dynamic entered the fray, a subtle hum of speculation. Gorok, despite his immense size and enhanced abilities, began to falter more visibly. His grimace deepened, his jaw clenched, and a faint tremor ran through his arm.

Slowly, painstakingly, inch by agonizing inch, Drake's hand began to push downwards. His own muscles bulged, coiled power under his skin, but he didn't appear to be using any skill. It was raw, unadulterated physical strength, honed by rigorous training and an unbreakable will. The crowd murmured, their whispers growing louder, a mix of disbelief and dawning excitement.

Then, with a final, explosive push, Drake slammed Gorok's hand onto the table with a resounding CRACK! The heavy wooden surface split, splintering loudly under the force of the impact. The muscular man roared in pain, his face contorted, clutching his hand as his companions rushed to his side, their faces a mixture of shock and anger. A system window immediately materialized in front of the blond boy, blazing with triumphant blue text.

Drake rubbed his arm, flexing his fingers. A faint grimace touched his lips, but it was quickly replaced by a satisfied nod.

"Good match."

He stated, his voice a little hoarse, but sincere. He turned, ready to leave the chaotic scene. But then, one of Gorok's companions, a burly user with a snarling face, stepped forward, blocking Drake's path.

"Hold on, you cheat!"

He roared, his voice laced with venom.

"You definitely used some illegal skill! No way he could beat Gorok legally!"

Drake paused, his expression one of mild confusion.

"I didn't use anything."

He said simply, his voice calm.

"Like hell you didn't!"

The man retorted, taking a threatening step forward. But before the situation could escalate, Angela took a decisive step forward, placing herself between Drake and the angry user. Her expression was cool and serene, yet her presence radiated an undeniable authority.

"You know perfectly well that's not true."

Angela stated, her voice calm and cutting, addressing Gorok's furious companion. Her gaze swept over the crowd.

"I'm quite certain you, and many of you present, possess some form of analysis or observation skill. If Drake had used anything, you would have noticed. The system itself would have flagged it immediately."

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The man opened his mouth to retort, but Angela cut him off again, her voice laced with a subtle contempt.

"Or perhaps, he should be ashamed that he was utterly humiliated by someone who doesn't even possess strength-enhancing skills, unlike him?"

She gestured pointedly at Gorok.

"It's obvious you knew this, which is why you chose this meathead of a boy for this wager. You thought it would be an easy victory."

A murmur rippled through the observing crowd. Some users, intrigued by Angela's challenge, subtly activated their own observation skills, scanning Drake's stats and recent energy fluctuations. Whispers spread, confirming Angela's words: The blond truly hadn't used any active or passive enhancement skills. The realization that Gorok, despite his obvious augmentations, had lost to raw, unenhanced physical strength, caused a wave of embarrassed murmurs and even some snickering among the onlookers.

The man's companion was speechless, his face flushing crimson with impotent rage and humiliation. Angela gave him a dismissive glance, then turned on her heel.

"Let's go."

She said with a firm voice. Drake, still a little confused by the rapid turn of events, simply nodded. He rejoined Kazue, Meera, and Katya, and they began to slowly walk away from the rapidly dispersing crowd.

"That was amazing, Drake!"

Kazue exclaimed, her eyes shining with admiration.

"You just… beat him! Without any skills!"

Her awe was genuine, completely bypassing the awkwardness of the situation. Katya merely turned her head away with a faint huff escaping her lips. A subtle blush crept onto her cheeks as she thought of Drake, his sleeves rolled up, his muscles straining. She quickly moved closer to Kazue, subtly inserting herself between her and the others, an almost imperceptible territorial gesture.

Meera, however, let out a boisterous laugh. She slapped Drake heartily on the back, a painful-sounding thwack.

"That was incredible, Drake! To face off against a user with enhancement skills, with nothing but sheer, traditional physical strength! I'm certain Solène would have loved you. A pity you two didn't get to meet properly."

Her words, delivered with a hearty sincerity, seemed to offer a strange form of acceptance for his previous actions, acknowledging his raw power.

After walking for a while, the group found a small, relatively quiet plaza. It was still bustling with users, but the immediate, overwhelming clamor of the main thoroughfare had softened into a more manageable hum. They gathered in a loose circle, their expressions a mix of contemplation and a renewed sense of urgency. The arm-wrestling victory, while impressive, had merely highlighted the immense financial hurdle they faced.

"So…"

Angela began, her voice calm and practical.

"We need at least a hundred thousand points. We're still a long way off. Drake's ten thousand, plus his recent win, brings us to… twenty-two thousand. Not even a quarter of what we need."

Meera nodded, her expression serious.

"I can contribute everything I have. But right now, I only have about fifteen thousand points on me, sorry."

She frowned, a rarity for her usually cheerful demeanor.

"I spent a lot on supplies for Solène and the others after they woke up."

"And I won't be contributing points directly."

Angela added, gesturing to the intricate drawing still in her hand.

"But I will try to sell this, or use it as part of a trade. It's a rare class, so it might cover at least a portion, or at least open doors."

"We can't just keep challenging people to arm-wrestling matches, can we?"

Kazue asked with a furrowed brow. Drake nodded, a grim set to his jaw.

"No. That was a fluke, I caught them by surprise, but it's not gonna happen again. Besides, I don't know how much more I could have pushed, and there are far stronger opponents out here."

Falk, perched on Drake's shoulder, whirred thoughtfully.

"Indeed. The statistical probability of replicating such a victory consistently, especially against users with specialized enhancement skills, would be astronomically low without specific countermeasures or equally specialized abilities."

Katya interjected, her patience wearing thin.

"So, what other options do we have? We can't just wander around hoping to find another lucky break."

Various suggestions were tossed around. Kazue suggested taking on odd jobs for users, using her skills for tasks.

"Maybe we can help someone with a complicated delivery? Or clear out a tricky, localized anomaly?"

Drake considered using his martial arts knowledge to offer training, but Angela pointed out the liability and time commitment. Katya, with a dry smirk, suggested finding a rich mark and scamming them, earning a sharp glare from Angela. Falk proposed offering his mechanical expertise for repairs or custom gadgetry, a viable option, but one that would take time. Meera pondered using her connection to Zha'vrin to offer a guide to contacting a god, but admitted it wasn't a consistent income source.

Ultimately, Angela brought the discussion back to reality.

"Look, there's no way to consistently earn points quickly in the Trade Nexus, not on the scale we need, unless… We go to the Casino."

Her voice was flat and resigned. Meera nodded in agreement.

"Oh, she's right! It's the only place designed for rapid point accumulation, for better or worse."

Drake, Kazue, and Falk exchanged puzzled glances. A casino? In this fantastical, system-driven city? Drake pictured the dimly lit, smoke-filled rooms of his old world, while Kazue imagined elegant tables with cards and chips. Katya, surprisingly, also looked a little lost.

"I've never actually been inside the 'Nexus Casino'."

She admitted, a rare moment of unfamiliarity. Angela explained.

"The 'Nexus Casino' is a special sector of the Trade Nexus, an entertainment hub where users engage in various wagers and games. You don't just bet points; you can gamble objects, merits, even skills."

Her voice grew colder.

"And it's all managed under the system's direct judgment, meaning you can even 'bet against the system' itself and generate earnings without needing to take them from another user. It's a pure injection of wealth, but at immense risk."

Kazue's eyes lit up.

"So, can we win the Plot Device we're looking for there?"

Meera shook her head.

"No, dear. That's not how it works. The casino's prizes are rotational. It's highly, highly unlikely that the specific Plot Device we need would ever be on offer. We're going there purely for points."

Her words deflated some of Kazue's nascent hope. After a kind-of long walk, their path opened into a vast, open plaza, dominated by a structure that defied the very concept of a building. It was the Nexus Casino.

It stood before them as a colossal monument to extravagance and ambition, dwarfing every other structure around it. Its exterior gleamed with impossible light, countless golden panels reflecting the simulated sky, adorned with shimmering, ruby-red crowns and intricate, swirling patterns that seemed to dance with an inner light. It was a beacon, drawing users like moths to a flame, its very presence screaming of immense wealth and unimaginable risk.

Hundreds upon hundreds of users flowed through its grand, arched entrance, their silhouettes swallowed by the dazzling brilliance within. The low, distant hum of the Nexus here transformed into a throbbing, bass-heavy pulse, a living heartbeat that vibrated through the very ground.

Kazue's jaw dropped. She felt a shiver run down her spine in a mix of apprehension and utter fascination. This wasn't just a casino; it was a fortress, a palace built of dreams and desperation. Drake's eyes widened, a rare flicker of raw awe crossing his face. Even Katya stared with a flicker of something akin to genuine surprise in her normally cynical eyes. Falk, now perched on Kazue's head, began to whir with a complex series of clicks and soft metallic groans.

"Unbelievable!"

He chirped, his voice filled with mechanical reverence. For all of them, it was like stepping into another world entirely, a realm of unparalleled luxury and bewildering opportunity.

The interior of the Nexus Casino was a dizzying assault on the senses. It was a colossal, cavernous space, stretching further than the eye could see, its ceiling lost in a shimmering, golden haze. The floor was a mosaic of polished obsidian and glowing crystals, reflecting the blinding light from thousands of floating system screens that pulsed with advertisements, changing prize lists, and rapidly updating scores. Lavish decorations, shimmering holograms of impossible creatures, and fountains of pure, liquid light adorned every corner. Users of every conceivable race and form mingled, their voices a continuous roar of excitement, frustration, and boisterous celebration. This was no ordinary casino.

Kazue had expected slot machines, card tables, and roulette wheels, but what she found defied all normal conventions. There were no familiar games of chance here. Instead, the games were spectacles, challenges that seemed to warp the very fabric of reality. One massive platform pulsed with a rainbow of colors, and users would leap onto it, attempting to 'ride' fluctuating waves, their forms distorting as they tried to maintain balance. Another station featured a colossal, intricately carved beast, its mouth agape, where users would throw rare relics, hoping the beast would 'devour' them and spit out a greater prize. There was a game where users would physically duel illusions of powerful system bosses, their "luck" determining the boss's weaknesses, and another where users would try to 'guess' the true nature of a shapeshifting, living puzzle. It was like stepping into a realm born from the wildest imaginings of countless fiction writers, a place where the line between game and reality blurred into spectacular, bewildering challenges.

Angela snapped the group out of their stunned awe.

"Alright, attention please."

She stated, her voice sharp, cutting through the sensory overload.

"This isn't the most efficient way to gather points, but it's our only consistent option. We need to play it safe, minimal risk, maximum return. We can't afford to lose what little we have."

She scanned the vast hall, her gaze analytical, searching for the most reliable game.

However, before she could finish giving her instructions, Kazue, with Falk still on her head, was gone… One moment she was there, and the next, she was a blur, having darted forward into the throng, drawn by the irresistible pull of a particularly intriguing game station. No one had even registered her departure until her absence was felt.

"Kazue?!"

Drake exclaimed, his voice laced with alarm. Katya's eyes widened in dismay.

"She just… ran off! Ugh!"

A wave of worry, swiftly followed by annoyance, washed over her. Meera, however, merely chuckled, shaking her head as they began to push through the crowd after the impulsive girl.

Kazue skidded to a halt in front of a circular platform, surrounded by a tense, silent crowd. In the center, a burly figure, a man with massive, muscled arms and thick boxing gloves, grunted in frustration. He slammed his fist against a console, his face red.

The game in front of him was simple in premise, yet impossibly complex in execution. A massive, holographic target, intricately designed with various glowing segments, floated in the air. The challenge was to strike the target, aiming for the smallest, most luminous segment, a pinprick of light that pulsed erratically. Each user was given a single, enormous, glowing hammer. The trick? The hammer itself was sentient, imbued with a powerful 'Will of Inertia'. The harder you swung, the more momentum it accumulated, but the more violently it resisted your control, twisting and bucking in your grasp, trying to deviate from your intended path. It was a test of raw strength, mental fortitude, and sheer, unadulterated luck in controlling an unruly force. The burly boxer before her had clearly failed, his hammer spinning wildly off course.

Kazue watched, utterly fascinated, as one user after another stepped up, their faces etched with a mix of determination and greed. A graceful elementalist tried to guide the hammer with winds, but it merely tore through their currents. A cyborg with enhanced strength grunted, but his precise swings were negated by the hammer's bucking force. All of them failed, their powerful blows sent wildly astray, missing the target entirely, or hitting the wrong segments.

Falk whirred, his optical sensors focusing intensely on each attempt.

"Intriguing."

He chirped.

"The 'Will of Inertia' is fascinating. It seems to resist not only brute force, but also external energy guidance. Its counter-force is proportional to the user's intended trajectory, with random fluctuations."

Kazue's eyes gleamed. The challenge, the spectacle, the sheer impossibility of it, thrilled her. Her fingers twitched. She had to try. Without thinking, without even checking the stakes, she walked up to the glowing hammer station. A system prompt immediately flashed before her.

Kazue's eyes widened, a sudden gasp catching in her throat. All points?! She had completely missed that part. But it was too late. Her presence had been registered, and she was in. Falk, however, had seen her intention.

"Kazue! Wait!"

He chirped, quickly, his mechanical voice urgent. He leaned down, his voice lowering to a conspiratorial whisper only she could hear.

"I believe I've identified a pattern. While there is a significant element of random chance, the 'Will of Inertia' can be minimally mitigated. Its resistance is based on the initiation of the swing, and its unpredictable fluctuations are tied to external energy signatures. If you swing with minimal initial force, allow the hammer's own 'will' to guide it for a fraction of a second, and then infuse your elemental energy subtly, not as a guide, but as a disruptor to its internal resistance... and then, at the precise apex of its counter-buck, you release. There's still a luck factor, but it's the optimal approach given its parameters."

Kazue listened intently, her mind racing to process Falk's rapid-fire instructions. She gripped the massive, glowing hammer. It felt alive, fighting her even before she moved. She took a breath, followed Falk's counter-intuitive advice, and swung. Her initial motion was almost negligible, a light push. The hammer bucked in a wave of unseen force rippling through it. For a split second, it seemed to hang, uncertain. Then, as the mechanical bird counted down silently in her ear, she unleashed a tiny, precise burst of raw, unaligned electric energy, not aimed at the target, but into the hammer itself, disrupting its internal resistance with a sudden shock.

And it worked… The hammer, instead of twisting wildly, surged forward. It still bucked and fought, but the force was manageable, somehow aligning with her hidden intent. With a final, desperate surge, she let go. The hammer shot forward, a glowing streak of light, and to the astonishment of the crowd, it slammed directly into the smallest, most luminous segment of the holographic target.

A deafening roar erupted from the machine. Lights flashed, confetti exploded into the air, and a triumphant symphony of celebratory chimes and fanfares blared through the casino. A massive System screen materialized directly in front of Kazue, its green text blazing with victory.

Kazue stared at the screen, her mouth agape. A Supreme Skill Upgrade Ticket?! This was beyond anything she could have imagined. Falk let out a series of triumphant, delighted chirps on her head.

"Success!"

He exclaimed.

"Though I must admit, the final alignment of the hammer's internal flux with your elemental disruption was still incredibly fortunate. It would be highly improbable to replicate this exact sequence without substantial additional calibration. You possess a unique aptitude for manipulating chance, Kazue."

Just then, the rest of the group burst through the thinning crowd, their faces a mixture of exasperation and relief.

"Kazue! What were you thinking, running off like that?!"

Drake exclaimed, his voice laced with a genuine worry. Katya looked ready to scold her as well, with her hands on her hips. But then they saw the system screen, the words 'Supreme Skill Upgrade Ticket' blazing in green. Their scolding died in their throats.

Meera was the first to react. Her eyes lit up, and with a joyful whoop, she rushed forward, enveloping the girl in a crushing hug.

"Kazue! You did it! You won! And that's an incredible prize! Oh, my little sister-in-law is a genius!"

Her hug was bone-crushing, filled with unbridled enthusiasm. Katya, who had been about to step forward, froze. Her eyes narrowed into dangerous slits, a low growl rumbling in her throat.

"Get your hands off her!"

She snapped, her voice sharp with possessive fury. She lunged forward, grabbing Kazue's arm and yanking her free from Meera's embrace with surprising force, pulling her protectively close. The woman blinked, startled but amused by the sudden aggression.

Drake and Angela, however, merely exchanged a resigned glance. They had seen this dynamic before.

The group, now armed with a newfound sense of hope, looked around the dazzling, chaotic interior of the Nexus Casino. They had found their way.

From another, more secluded room within the colossal casino, there was a hidden observation lounge filled with flickering screens displaying various games, and a group of cloaked figures watched. Their faces were obscured, but one of them, a figure with a subtle, predatory aura, smiled faintly as they watched the celebratory scene around Kazue. The smile was thin, knowing, a silent acknowledgment of the unexpected power that had just entered the building.