Lottery

The system panel glowed in the center of Jack's vision, its pale blue light painfully bright in the dim cabin.

Jack leaned against the cabin's wooden wall. His back pressed against a sheet-metal patch nailed on a few days earlier, and its edge lifted slightly under his weight with a faint creak.

A wheel spun in the center of his vision, its icons blurring into a streak of light. Jack watched it and tapped his knee twice. After about three seconds, light burst from the wheel, and three icons appeared in the middle of the panel.

Option One

Category: Champion Skill

Name: Thresh [Passive Skill: Damnation]

Effect: Whenever an enemy unit, including a minion, monster, or champion, dies nearby, it drops a soul. Collecting souls permanently increases armor and ability power. The more souls collected, the higher the bonuses.

Description: Thresh's core scaling skill can theoretically stack without limit. The more souls he collects, the tougher he becomes and the harder he hits. That is why late-game Thresh can take a beating and dish one out.

Option Two

Category: Champion Skill

Name: Twisted Fate [R Skill: Destiny]

Effect: Twisted Fate reveals the positions of all enemy champions on the map for 6 seconds. During that time, he can channel a teleport to any location on the map.

Description: Full-map vision and teleportation give this skill far more strategic value than combat value. It can work wonders for catching enemies, providing support, or escaping.

Option Three

Category: Summoner Spell

Name: Clarity

Effect: Restores a percentage of mana to the user and nearby allies.

Description: This skill is rather lackluster. Unless a champion is desperately short on mana, nobody takes it.

Jack scanned the three options. His gaze paused on Thresh's passive, shifted to Twisted Fate's ultimate, then returned to Thresh's passive.

He dismissed Clarity outright.

Twisted Fate's ultimate was powerful. With full-map vision and teleportation, Jack could reach any corner of West Blue in seconds. But he had no use for it right now.

Thresh's passive was different. It stacked armor and ability power permanently. Jack had no use for the ability power, but armor was what he lacked most. Hardened Skin could withstand physical attacks, but skin hardness alone was not enough against the unusual attacks of Paramecia users. Armor could cover that weakness, and there was no upper limit.

Most importantly, he would not have to go out of his way to build stacks. He killed people and ability users, and he wiped out Mafia strongholds. Every battle left plenty dead. All he had to do was stand nearby, and the souls would fly to him on their own.

"Option one."

Jack did not speak loudly, but the system heard him.

The icon for option one expanded, then shattered. Its fragments became a dark green light that sank into his chest. A system notification appeared.

Skill acquired: Thresh [Passive Skill: Damnation].

Current soul stacks: 0. Armor bonus: 0. Ability power bonus: 0.

Jack looked down at his chest. The dark green light was gone, but he could feel something moving beneath his skin. It was not energy or strength, but a more fundamental change, as though the structure of his body had been altered.

Another system notification lit up.

Random draw in progress...

The wheel spun again, faster than before. Its icons traced circle after circle of light across his vision. After about five seconds, light burst from the wheel, and three icons appeared in the middle of the panel.

Option One

Category: Talent (Keystone Rune)

Name: Dark Harvest

Effect: Champions, large minions, and large monsters drop souls when they die. Collecting souls permanently increases Dark Harvest's damage. Attacking an enemy champion below 50% health consumes souls to deal bonus adaptive damage.

Description: A scaling keystone rune well suited to champions who finish off weakened enemies and frequently take part in kills. It takes time to build stacks early on, but its late-game damage is considerable.

Option Two

Category: Champion Skill

Name: Lee Sin [R Skill: Dragon's Rage]

Effect: Lee Sin knocks a target back with a powerful spinning kick, dealing physical damage. Other enemies struck by the target in flight are also knocked back and take the same damage.

Description: Lee Sin's signature move can decide a fight with one kick. Whether used to send an enemy's key fighter into his team, protect the back line, or disrupt an enemy formation, it can work wonders.

Option Three

Category: Equipment

Name: Quicksilver Sash

Effect: Grants magic resistance. Active effect: Removes all crowd-control effects. Cooldown: 90 seconds.

Description: An excellent tool for breaking free of crowd control. Press it when caught, and you can escape. It cannot remove knockups or suppression, though.

Jack considered the three options.

Lee Sin's ultimate was powerful. One kick could send someone flying and deal area damage. But Jack fought by getting in close and trading blows. Kicking an opponent away would only make it harder to keep attacking.

Quicksilver Sash was good too, but he already had Cleanse. Cleanse could not remove knockups or suppression, and neither could Quicksilver Sash. Their functions overlapped, so he did not need both.

Dark Harvest was another matter. Thresh's passive gave armor and ability power; Dark Harvest gave damage. Both scaled and could stack without limit. One made him tougher, the other made him hit harder. They complemented each other perfectly.

He could also wound an enemy badly enough to stack Dark Harvest, then kill them to stack Damnation. Two gains from one target.

"Option one."

The icon for option one expanded and shattered. Its fragments became a dark red light that sank into his chest. Another system notification appeared.

Talent acquired: Dark Harvest.

Current soul stacks: 0. Bonus damage: 0.

Jack closed his eyes and felt for the change. The dark red light lingered in his chest for an instant, then spread through his limbs before vanishing into his muscles and bones. From now on, he could feel that every death would provide him with a soul. His armor and damage could grow without end.

The system notification lit up a third time.

Random draw in progress...

The wheel spun for the third time. This was its slowest spin yet. The icons drifted across his vision as if the wheel were hesitating over where to stop. After about seven seconds, light burst from it, and three icons appeared in the middle of the panel.

Option One

Category: Champion Skill

Name: Volibear [W Skill: Thunder Claws]

Effect: Passive: Volibear's basic attacks grant bonus attack speed. Active: Lightning coils around Volibear's claws, dealing magic damage to a target before bouncing to nearby enemies. Enemies hit are marked as wounded for 8 seconds.

Description: Volibear's core damage skill. The attack-speed bonus gives him an edge in early fights, while the bouncing lightning can deal heavy area damage in team battles.

Option Two

Category: Hextech ARAM Rune

Name: Signal Flare

Effect: Gold-tier rune. Your chat pings, such as "On my way," become missiles that fly to the location indicated by your cursor, dealing 50–200 magic damage, based on level, to enemies in the area and healing allies along the path for 20–80 health, based on level. Cooldown: 8 seconds.

Description: An ARAM rune that is both fun and useful, turning a communication tool into a weapon. It can clear waves from a distance, check bushes, or add a little damage and healing in a team battle. Just be careful not to waste a Signal Flare on minions.

Option Three

Category: Champion Skill

Name: Annie [R Skill: Summon: Tibbers]

Effect: Annie summons Tibbers, dealing magic damage in a target area. Tibbers continues attacking nearby enemies and burns them. Annie can command Tibbers to move and attack.

Description: Annie's signature ultimate summons a bear with high health and damage. It plays an important role whether she uses it to start a fight or protect her back line.

Jack's gaze paused on option one.

Volibear's W skill, Thunder Claws. Its passive increased attack speed, while its active dealt lightning damage that could bounce between targets. The attack-speed bonus would make his punches much faster.

The bouncing lightning could also hit multiple targets, which would be useful for clearing out minions and other small fry.

"Option one."

The icon for option one expanded and shattered. Its fragments became a bright blue light that sank into his hands. Jack looked down. Tiny arcs of electricity appeared on his fingers, flickered between them, then vanished.

Another system notification appeared.

Skill acquired: Volibear [W Skill: Thunder Claws].

Passive effect: Basic attacks gain 5% bonus attack speed.

Active effect: Attacks deal bonus lightning damage that can bounce to up to 3 targets.

Jack clenched his fists, and his knuckles cracked. He could feel something flowing beneath his skin. It was not blood, but electricity. Weak currents ran through his muscle fibers and stimulated his nerve endings, sharpening his reactions.

The system panel glowed at the edge of his vision.

Heartsteel stacks: 25/120. Blade of the Ruined King. Zhonya's Hourglass. Ghost. Mystic Shot. Cleanse. Maximum Dosage. Damnation. Dark Harvest. Thunder Claws.

His collection of skills kept growing.

Colin came in through the cabin door carrying a bowl of water. He held it out to Jack, whose reflection showed on the water's surface. Jack took the bowl and drank. The water was cool as it slid down his throat, with a faint taste of rust. He handed it back, and Colin set it aside.

"Boss, should we report what happened on Iron Fist Island?" Colin spoke quietly, but every word was clear.

Jack looked at him. "Report it."

Colin nodded, pulled a crumpled sheet of paper from his pocket, unfolded it, and spread it across Jack's knees. Several lines had been scrawled on it, but they were legible. The title read "West Blue Mafia Suppression Report." It stated that the stronghold on Iron Fist Island had been destroyed; Capone Bege, Iron Mask, and Yak had been killed; and the armed personnel had been eliminated.

Jack glanced at it and handed it back. "Send it."

Colin folded the paper, tucked it into his pocket, and left the cabin. His wings spread slightly in the doorway, their feathers brushing the frame with a soft rustle.

The patrol boat's engine hummed at the stern. Its bow cut through the sea, sending waves rolling out to either side. A breeze blew into the cabin, carrying the salt of the sea and some indefinable scent from farther out. Jack leaned against the wooden wall and closed his eyes.

The system panel glowed quietly at the edge of his vision. The soul-collection range appeared on it as a pale green circle about fifty meters across. Any unit that died within that range would drop a soul, which would fly to him automatically.

At least a hundred people had died on Iron Fist Island. If he had stayed long enough, their souls should have reached him. But he had left too quickly, and he did not know how many people on the island had yet to die.

His Dark Harvest stacks were at 0, and so were his Damnation stacks.

Colin poked his head through the cabin door again. "Boss, headquarters replied."

Jack opened his eyes.

Colin handed him a telegram printed in faint blue letters on thermal paper. Jack read it. The recipient was the 16th Branch, and the sender was the Marine Headquarters General Staff. It said: "Capone Bege confirmed dead. West Blue Mafia Alliance dismantled. Appointment as commander of the 16th Branch approved. Rank: Colonel. Tsuru."

Jack folded the telegram and slipped it into his pocket.

Colonel. A Marine colonel.

It had been less than two months since the day he was dragged into Iron Cage City. In two months, he had gone from a gladiator taken from a fishing village to a Marine colonel and commander of the 16th Branch. He had swept away most of the West Blue Mafia and killed Capone Bege.

But Marine Headquarters had responded too quickly. Unnaturally quickly. Less than an hour had passed between Colin sending the report and receiving the reply. The General Staff could not possibly have confirmed Capone Bege's death in so little time unless they had been waiting for the news, or someone had been watching me all along.

The situation in West Blue was not over. Though most of the Mafia families had been cleared out, there was still plenty to do. Jack did not intend to take part in it. He would go to headquarters sooner or later, so he would leave the rest to Colin.

The patrol boat entered the harbor of the 16th Branch.

Jack jumped off the boat. His military boots struck the dock's wooden planks with heavy thuds. He glanced at the three people, said nothing, and walked past them toward the office building.