Too Good to be True

A couple of sweat drops appeared on Mr Lee's brow.

From the corner of James' vision, James saw Phil lean a little bit forward over his desk.

Even though a hundred dollars was nothing to Phil and Phil had probably won and lost more than that many times, the sight of any moderately sized wager was more than enough to get Phil's interest piqued.

James smiled to himself. It seemed like he had made a pretty good guess. Maybe he would be walking away twenty percent richer after this class.

"Well then, let's see if today is your lucky day," Mr Lee said as he reached into his right pants pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper.

Mr Lee slowly unfolded the piece of paper and turned it around to show the class.

"Ninety five!" Mr Lee announced. "Close, but no cigar James. Thank you. You can head back to your seat now."

A chorus of disappointed groans emanated from the class again as James went back to his desk in the back corner of the class. Deep inside, James had always known that his lucky feeling was too good to be true. As the old saying went, if it's too good to be true, it usually isn't true.

"As you can see, a high variance and high payout is not necessarily always a good thing! If James had picked any of the two lesser gambles, he would have added to his winnings today. Alas, he came close on the big one, but he was ultimately unlucky." Mr Lee continued to lecture the class.

Shortly after, the bell signifying the end of class rang.

Before James could pick up his bag, he saw Phil saunter over with a smirk on his face.

"Unlucky Jamie James. Don't worry, I'll make sure you have more chances this weekend. No chickening out now." Phil taunted before leaving the room.

James sighed and checked that his backpack was tightly zippered shut before swinging it over his shoulders and heading to his next class. He couldn't afford to offend another socialite with falling books.

---

After the last student had left the class, Mr Lee reached into his left pants pocket and pulled out a slightly crumpled piece of paper. It was the piece of paper that he had scribbled a number on for James to guess.

He unfolded the paper and looked down at the number... 97.

This James kid is too scary, he thought to himself. A natural wizard at probability, and such piercing insight as well. Good thing I had already prepared a piece of paper with the variance of the original scenario written on it. Losing a hundred dollars would have hurt.

---

The rest of the school day passed, and James made the long walk back to his safe room.

As he confronted the now familiar sight of the bare room, he sighed and thought back to the events of the previous day.

In just twenty four hours, he had figured out most of the note his dad had left him, but there was still that one piece that eluded him.

O has Mom. What could that mean? Who or what was O, and why did they take his mom?

Was it just another kidnapping case and that all his father needed to do was to go ransom his mother?

What if his father did not have enough money because he had used it to feed the system?

James resolved to do his best to win more money in case he needed it to save his parents. This weekend would provide a good opportunity for him to add to his savings. He was sure that with the help of his system, he would be able to beat Phil and Phil's lackeys.

---

In a mysterious location, further away, the same two shrouded figures were talking once again.

"Has the father shown up yet?"

"No sir. Not yet."

"I guess it has only been a day. When he does, we will get the truth out of him."

"Yes sir. Sir, per your instructions, we have not been tracking the kid. Do you want us to commit resources on him just in case?"

"I said no. He's just a kid with no home and no parents left. Our prior investigations showed that he has no history of gambling, and was at best an average student at school. Even if he managed to survive being an orphan on the streets, do you really think an average Joe can pose any threat to us?"

"No sir."

"If you have this much free time to worry about a kid, and enough people lying around being wastrels that you want to put some of them on him, send them out to search for the husband instead. The husband is the important one. Everything and everyone else is just collateral damage. Including you."

"Y... ye... yes sir."

---

James took out the old, worn, dollar bill that he had won from Mr Lee. It could be considered as the first ever dollar he had ever made. Something that he had earned through his own efforts and not an allowance or a gift. It was definitely a bittersweet moment to savor.

[ Ding. Just a friendly reminder from your friendly System. You have one uncompleted mission. ]

[ Mission: Spend $1 on the system to unlock the next step of the tutorial. ]

[ It looks like you have $1 in your current winnings. Would you like to use the $1 to complete your mission? ]

[ It's worth it... Come on. System is hungry. We'll make more money soon. ]

James shook his head. This money grubbing system was absolutely shameless. Still, if it improved his chances of doing well on the weekend, it might pay off significantly. Maybe he would win enough from Phil that he could make a difference in helping pay off the supposed ransom.

[ Yum! Mission completed. Current Money: $499. Current Winnings: $0. Lifetime Winnings: $1 ]

"Wait a minute. I was only just thinking about it. I didn't say I was going to give the dollar to you yet!"

[ You were going to eventually anyway. System just saved you some time, that's all. Don't be such a miser. Don't you want to know what you just unlocked? Come on, it's only a dollar. No need to cry over split milk. ]

James grumbled to himself. If it was only a dollar then why was the system being so greedy about it.

[ Stop being a such a baby. Here. ]

[ Achievement Unlocked: Your First Step ]

[ As they say in China, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. In rougher parlance, this is your first blood. Now you have truly started on your path towards becoming the God of Gamblers. ]

[ Reward: Upgraded System from Starter System Statistics to Basic System Statistics ]

First blood? Didn't that mean that his system had taken his virginity? Damn you System, I was saving it for someone special!

[ Ahem... don't think about it like that. It is ... uh ... just the beginning. System will take care of you. System promises. ]

[ Mission Unlocked: Second Base - Spend $10 on the system to unlock the next step of the tutorial. ]

Second base? Damn it System, I thought you said not to think about it like that!

[ Hehe. ]

"So, what exactly do I get from the upgrade from Starter System to Basic System?"

[ In addition to being able to access your money and tell you how much money you have and how much of it is eligible for System, System can now track your lifetime winnings as well. It is a huge upgrade in functionality. Now your first blood is memorialized for all eternity. ]

"Enough with the innuendo! Is that all I get for giving you my first blood?"

[ It is a long journey to the top. Hehe. ]

"Cheat! Scam! You stole the dollar without my permission and now all you can do is tell me that you ate it? I want to file a complaint! You are a thief! I will never give you another cent ever again!"

[ ... ]

[ ... ]

[ Don't say that. System is a friend right? Come on, is this how you treat your friends? ]

"Friend my ass. You better give me back my dollar or I swear I will jump out of the window and take you with me."

[ You are on the second floor. System believes you will break a leg at most. ]

"I'll climb to the top of the building and jump!" James was really enraged now. All the events and unfairness of the past day had finally gotten to him and he was beyond reasoning.

[ OK. OK. Don't do anything rash. System is your friend. System promised to take care of you after taking your first blood. How's this? System will skip a few levels for you. ]

After reading those words, James calmed down a little. It looked like the system was not completely unreasonable after all. It even had somewhat of a cute personality, he conceded in his head.

[ Why thank you. You're somewhat cute yourself James. Hehe. ]

"No more innuendo means no more innuendo. Come! Tell me what other benefits you can provide."