Mae Your Own Luc

This is a short tale of the Becoming Monsters Universe by AiLoves, and the start of a new series of them. Whether one-shot commissions, short ideas, things that are a hair niche for other tales, or possible seeds for later series, I hope you enjoy them.

The ideas for this chapter came from discussions with a couple of my co-writers in the Becoming Monsters Universe, TheNyxianLily and Lokisluck. Most of the Attributes have pretty easy examples of what they look like as a Class focus... but what about Luck?

This story is being submitted as a part of the Pandemonium 2024 collection.

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Story 1: Make Your Own Luck

The club, despite the uninhibited atmosphere and red-tinged lighting, was on the quiet side. The proprietor always said he wanted people there to make connections, temporary or permanent, and playing music at a million decibels wouldn't help that. Also drove away the people with really good hearing, and that would not be acceptable. It was, therefore, clearly audible to the club when the lady I had been chatting up dumped her cup of ice water over my head and strode off, claws ticking on the empty dance floor.

The derisive laughs from her table-mates told me I'd have no chance here the rest of the night, either.

I made sure to head back to my table by going directly to the carpet, then going around. Easier on the staff. One of them saw me on the way, sighed, and went to get a mop. Again. I was a fairly frequent patron of this establishment, I was nice to the staff, and tipped well. Probably the only reason they hadn't asked me, politely but firmly, to leave and not come back.

I wasn't alone at my table, and a couple of buddies of mine were already there. One, a moderately burly Bear Beastfolk who moonlighted as a really good GM for game nights, chuckled as he held out a towel. "Come on, Felix, get yourself dried off. You might look good with the shirt clinging to you, but I saw the ice cubes. Thought I told you to compliment her tail?"

I took the towel, gratefully, glad that he'd seen what happened and had the insight to ask a waiter for one. "I did, Rex! Started off with the normal small talk, said that, got iced. Would have brought my soap if I'd known I was gonna get a free shower out here."

Rex's boyfriend, a Deer who did distance running as a hobby, shook his head as he joined us in laughter. "Only you could strike out like that, man. Six foot tall, handsome, blonde, athletic former Delver? Going after a Ferret who, if I'm not mistaken, was entering her Heat cycle? Come on! What are the chances?"

What were the chances, indeed. You'd think I would know, since my Karmic class was entirely based around my Luck. "Apparently not 0%, so I'm guessing I'm not getting lucky tonight."

The big Bear laughed again. "Get lucky? You haven't gotten laid in six months, and the last time you did she called you to tell you she had an STD the next day."

"Couple courses of antibiotics cleared that one up. Definitely said no to going for round two the next weekend, I'm not that desperate. There are other women in California."

"Come on, let's get you back to the apartment. You know, before the next one claws you, Delver boy."

"My luck is gonna change soon enough. Just you wait and see!" I should know. I could see the charge meter at 98% when I pulled up my Status screen. After a year and a half of pain, I was a week away from changing my fortune. As we stepped into the chill winter air, I finally knew I could make it.

***

Eighteen months earlier

In the sweltering summer Vegas heat, my Guild Leader looked at me incredulously. We were both Humans, though he was an Ice Magus and main striker for the Delve teams. "Please tell me you're joking. Please tell me you didn't take the option that makes you only able to delve half as often."

"Sir, that's not it at all. I'm cashing out. One too many close calls underground, and I know my Luck's going to run out one day. I chose Inefficient Storage because it multiplies my Karma tank by a factor of ten, even if it halves my storage rate. I have enough cash saved up and you owe me enough in treasure to last me a while, so I'm retiring from the Dungeon life. Gonna keep my chain shirt, dagger, and pistol in case I find trouble, but the rest is the Guild's to buy out. Can't let go of stuff I helped make, you know?"

He breathed in deeply, using a tiny scrap of his power to cool the area we were talking in. One of those little conveniences I had not been able to invoke since I'd started Delving, every spare iota of my Luck had been going to the Guild to maximize loot and minimize casualties. Considering that the Change had objectively shown me that if being lucky were an Olympic event, I'd be a medal contender, that was a lot of sacrifice. "Are you absolutely sure about this? You know once you leave, it will come out that you're a Karmic. Every casino in town will blacklist you, every job will think you're cheating to be there."

"I have a plan for that. I'm staying here for as long as the getting's good to get ready, then I'm headed to California. If my math's right, the curse will last for eleven months before I can use the benefits properly. The same Uncapped Blast that let me rescue the situation yesterday will let me use it all and secure my life. After that, who knows, but I can't stay here for it. Too much can go wrong if you're that unlucky in the City of Sin. I can't avoid all chance, but I can make sure it doesn't kill me."

In the end, when I went into Karmic Storage mode, I ended up getting robbed twice and chased out of three casinos in a month. Thankfully, my car only broke down twice on the trip to Palm Springs, a trip which should have only taken four and a half hours. Once I got there, settling into the cheap apartment home I had carefully planned out, I found out two major drawbacks to what I was doing.

The first, I should have seen coming. With alarming frequency, I had to use some of my charge (or at least exit Karmic Storage to use my real Luck) just to survive. Getting a job, dodging accidents, praying for authorities to arrive in time. It doesn't matter how good you are, skill only brings you close enough for luck to finish it. Now, luck wasn't doing its part. Even if I was good enough to do something 99% of the time, the 1% would always creep in every time it mattered.

The second was way worse. I had to engage with my Luck every day or it wouldn't gather more than a trickle of charge. The more the better, but a guy has to be able to live. My luck wasn't just 90% worse, I had to let it smack me around.

So, I got myself a customer service job (and got ALL the worst customers, much to my coworkers' appreciation). I joined a regular game night and stuck to affordable stakes (which I lost nearly every time). I went to the clubs (and struck out with extreme regularity). I registered my Delver and Firearm skills (despite the registration process for both going awry four times apiece and having to be restarted). I kept up with my hobby of armor crafting (along with fighting supply issues). Most of all, I never, never, NEVER used the tiniest iota of my power for anything short of survival. For a year and a half.

***

My boss paused incredulously. "You never call in sick, Felix! I usually have to tell you to get out of here when you're running out of tissues."

"It's a Status thing, sir. I'm Human, but my Class is an oddball and today's going to be really bad to be at work."

"If you say so. You got two sick days left, so I'll mark one for you to get over this bout of whatever it is."

"Thank you, sir." I hung up. Some things don't depend on Luck. Working hard and being a dependable juggernaut at the job means that, in turn, the boss knows you wouldn't call in unless it was a big deal. And a big deal it was. This week had passed with only minor or recoverable misfortunes, and my Karma meter had finally maxed out. I had exited Gathering mode before calling in, just in case. This was it. I had carefully planned out what I was going to try under the power of the stored force of eighteen months as one of the unluckiest people on Earth.

Newton's Third Law worked with forces. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. As a Karmic, my Luck was a force as real as gravity, and the action had been downward for a long time.

Rex the Bear was sitting on the couch with an interested look on his face. "You know, you telling me this morning that your luck was under your control wasn't believable, but given how smoothly that call went you may have a point. So, you got my attention. Gonna hit the Riverboat Casino? Buy a lotto ticket or three?"

I shook my head. "Nah. That's against the law, and they check. No use winning a couple million dollars then going to jail for it. No, I want this to be meaningful."

"Hah, okay. So what's on your mind?"

I was fiddling with my phone, getting things ready and making sure I could take maximum advantage of what I had coming. "You know the idea of a soul mate? That there is someone out there who is absolutely and utterly perfect for you, and you for them?"

He shrugged. "Eh, I say that your soulmate is who you're willing to put the effort in for, but sure."

Uncapped Burst couldn't quite use all of the massive forces I'd built up at once. At maximum flow rate, though, I'd expend eighteen months of suffering in three hours. Best make them count. For the first time in so long that I'd almost forgotten how to do it, I entered Burst Mode. "Well, I agree with you, but I want to find the one person on Earth I'm best suited for, and I'm willing to bet she's around here. And that she is on dating apps." I hit the button to open Ember, the most popular such program in use in this area.

With a couple of quick swipes and taps, I went to check and make sure all my settings were right. I wanted to be looking for generally the people who would appeal to me. Women, around my age, looking for long term relationships, humanoid body configuration. A hundred miles was about the most I could hope to get to in time, so I set my radius there. My bio was up, a couple of flattering pictures, my tags good to go.

I wasn't at all joking when I told Rex that I did not care about ill-gotten riches. But love? A good woman had worth beyond rubies, as my old pastor liked to say. Somewhere in Proverbs, but that wasn't important. I wanted someone to share my life with. Everything else could work itself out. Anything else wasn't worth the suffering I had to put into this.

By now my ability had enough time to get good and soaked in. I could probably walk casually across the middle of an active battlefield and not get hit. I hit the button to bring up the first potential candidate. A whistle escaped my lips. The woman I was looking at was hot enough to melt the screen of the phone. Looked familiar, too, like I'd seen her somewhere before. With interest, I pulled up her bio.

***

"Hey there! My name's Simha, but you probably know me by my streamer handle TheSexiestSlayer! I'm a Greater Succubus, guaranteed to give you the time of your life. Normally on here for a quick meal, but now I'm ready to pick a special someone and settle down. 26 years old, She/Her, Pan/Poly, down for anything and I come with a bevy of hot bed buddies I'm willing to share (they've been helping keep me Fed). I've got a trust fund, so no I don't care about your money.

Level 9 Caretaker, Domestic Goddess build!

My Ten: STR 15, END 22, DEX 18, AGI 12, INT 14, WIS 25, CHA 45, LCK 8, PER 10, HLT 10. Hope you aren't easily intimidated.

Looking for someone with super high Endurance to keep up with me, or else a Human with Deep Feeding. Must be funny and more than a bit nerdy."

***

"Oh, pull the other one, it's got bells on it."

I'd almost forgotten Rex was standing there, looking at my screen. I'd gotten lost in her ebony-black skin and faintly glowing amber eyes. I pulled up my Status screen, and checked my traits. Sure enough, Deep Feeding was what I had other than Human Potential, I never had managed to figure out what it did. I shook my head, clearing the screen and bringing myself to the present. "What do you mean?"

"There's no WAY that's real! Come on, she's way too perfect. A rich Domestic Goddess with FORTY-FIVE Charisma? What's someone like that doing where you could find her?"

I thought for a second. Humans at the Change who were international supermodels and industry-dominating porn stars found themselves at 20 Charisma. To hit 45 by Level 9, it would require that, plus putting every point you got into Charisma, plus a high roll on Racial bonuses even for an infamously high-Charisma Race like the incredibly rare Greater Succubi. Not even counting the rest. That's the name hit me. "Wait, I know who she is, too! TheSexiestSlayer is a pretty prominent game streamer and cosplayer. Really good at fighting games, I watched her win a competition in Vegas before I came here. Had to play from an opaque box so that her boobs weren't distracting her opponents. Seriously, her control using zoners is almost as sexy as she is. The picture definitely looks like it could be her"

"Are you even listening to yourself? All of that AND she's a minor celebrity? That's a catfish, and a stinky one at that. Don't get caught, man!"

I grinned. "You know what? I'm feeling lucky." Reaching down to the screen, I swiped to indicate extreme interest, and sent a message saying I had Deep Feeding and would love to meet her. Followed by another one complimenting her on her choice of cosplay for the third photo, because seriously. She was hot, the character was hot, and the outfit was about a quarter inch in every direction from not being allowed on the website.

I'd swiped through rejecting three or four more profiles, maybe thirty seconds, before I got a ping. Simha the Greater Succubus sent a heart. The next text she sent was simple. "Oh, you look like an absolute treat! You think you can handle me? Well, then I'll meet you in an hour~" followed by an address. I looked up the location, it was a fairly nice hotel which I knew had a good restaurant attached. I checked her streaming profile, and the pictures definitely could be the same person. I wasn't stupid, though, the next step was to make sure the pictures from the dating site were different from the ones on the streaming one. They were, so catfish risk was

slightly

reduced. Status screen up, and my Luck buff was showing active, the Karma meter slowly ticking down. The hotel was about 30 minutes away by car. Talk about some motivation, I was showered and dressed inside of ten minutes despite Rex's objections.

I almost wore the same button-down collared shirt as my profile pic to make myself easier to identify, but got a hunch that something a bit different would be better. Why my hunches were telling me my enchanted mail shirt with a hoodie depicting an anime power up scene over it would work, but at least it was cool enough for it. The knife and gun wouldn't be appreciated, so I left them. As I began to head out, Rex looked approvingly. "Wearing armor? Alright, guess you're not completely an idiot."

"I'll either be back in an hour, in three hours, or I'll let you know where I am. You know, in case I get swallowed by a catfish." I really didn't think I would, but it would reassure him.

"Alright. Be safe, Felix."

I'd budgeted 40 minutes for the 30 minute trip, forgetting that I wasn't cursed anymore. Just the opposite, every car and every light seemed to be going out of its way to help me move faster than I ever had through the city streets. In 20 minutes, I was at the hotel. That put me nearly a half hour early for the date. The best table in the place was open, so I got the table for two and told the staff to expect a pretty woman named Simha and send her my way. Also sent her a message that traffic treated me right and I'd gotten there early. Her response was simple: "be right down!"

I signaled the waitress that she was coming, and just as bread sticks came out I noticed a woman walk in. She was tall, for a woman. Almost as tall as my own six feet, and wearing a baggy gray hoodie (with the logo of a fighting game tournament on it) with the hood pulled up. She had on a thin medical mask obscuring her face from the nose down, but the glow of her amber eyes was alluring and I could see the ridges of her horns under the hood. It was obvious that she was trying to conceal her nature, or at least limit its effect on the people around her, but it was equally obvious that the attempt was in vain. Even under the baggy sweater it was pretty obvious that the figure it hid was luscious. Every step she took set her entire body moving in ways that drew the eye like gravity,

The staff pointed in my direction, I waved in a way I hoped was friendly and not overly eager or urgent. I couldn't help thinking that I had already expended forty-five precious minutes of power, and once it ran out I had no idea how this would go. She nodded at me and stepped around the counter. Her sweat pants were similarly gray and baggy... and similarly they failed to conceal the sway of her bountiful hips or the fact that she reflexively strode down the aisle like it was a catwalk.

She sat at the table, eyeing the breadsticks. "Felix?" Even the single word was a sound that bypassed my brain and went straight for my soul, warm and dripping with honey.

I nodded. "Simha?"

"That's me. Nice hoodie, by the way, loved that show." She lowered her mask, and it was an effort just to breathe. Her nose was delicate, her lips a perfect Cupid's bow. She snagged one of the bread sticks from the table, and the act of her putting it in her mouth carried images of all kinds of things we couldn't do in public. "Thanks for getting these going, the bread sticks here are the best in town."

With a superheroic effort of will I managed to hold myself in control and grab a bread stick of my own. She wasn't wrong, they were amazing, but they paled in comparison to just being in her presence. "Thanks for recommending the place. Got any recommendations? Sounds like you've been here a few times and this is my first."

She sniffed the air delicately, then looked at me with curiosity on her face. "This is going to sound direct, but humor me. Succubi can smell and taste lust directly, and it comes in a thousand kinds. Especially around me. You are almost out of your mind with lust right now, but staying controlled. Point in your favor, you haven't even made a sexual innuendo in my direction yet. It does get easier over time if you get that far, but what gets me is the flavor combination."

"I have a flavor? Color me curious." And let's face it, I wanted her tongue on me, too.

"On the one hand, you are no virgin, and seem open to casual things. On the other, the smell is unusually intense, which tells me you're on a dry spell, but that in turn tells me you aren't pushy and you aren't trying the desperation tactics. I've seen those, you wouldn't have gotten the date. You might just be actually looking for a connection."

Definitely not just a pretty face. "Got it in one, including the dry spell. Been about six months."

"For someone with that profile? That's a shock. Tell you what. I had a really busy morning and I'm Hungrier than I'm hungry." I could hear the subtle emphasis on the words. She needed to Feed her supernatural Hunger more than she needed food in her belly. "Leave a tip, follow me to my room, and I'll make it easier for both of us to focus"

My erection nodded its agreement at her words. Still keeping an iron control on myself, I reached into my pocket for a Silver Coin and put it on the table as we stood.

Her eyebrow quirked up when she saw it. "Triple-7 stamp? You did mention that you were a Vegas Delver in your bio, didn't you?"