Lootbox Hero (Old)

Chapter 1: A Coin and a Box

Delving. A profession taken up by most of the world's denizens. It was a lucrative endeavor to be sure, but also highly dangerous. Nobody knew who created the innumerable Dungeons, and for what purpose; all that was known is that the various structures were full of valuable loot. You just had to get past all the booby traps, and monsters to get to the good stuff. Something that was not especially suited to someone that was Griefborn. The poor souls chosen by the Goddess of Misfortune. Gifted with Unluck, and doomed to a weary existence. Living in contrast to those that are Joyborn.

Tayka Chanz was one such unlucky soul. It wasn't much of a surprise, after all his family had a history of it. However, and despite his lot in life, Tayka desired nothing more than to be one of the revered Delvers of Prusperis City. Second only to the Lootsmiths in terms of fame. Naturally his attempts always ended in shambles, and these days he's limited to Cleaned Dungeons. Named as much for the fact that they've been completely picked clean of notable both Loot, and Monster alike. Only the barest of scraps remaining. It wasn't much in the way of living, and has lead the young man into desperate times. It was a miracle he'd made it this long by himself.

Tomorrow was a day most looked forward to, even down in the Slums. The Worldbox Festival. A grand celebration of the rediscovery of the once lost art of Lootsmithing. It was also a day of remembrance for the greatest Lootsmith to have ever walked the lands of Lút; Poe Tenshal. The first person to figure out how to make Lootboxes in generations. Magical boxes that were capable of containing any manner of object. Even other types of Magic. They were highly sought after, and had become wedged into every facet of everyday life. Want toast for breakfast? Better hope you get a good roll on the Bread Lootbox from the bakery. Need some new clothes that fit? Good luck with that Clothing Lootbox.

Of course the rolling rates depended on the quality of the box itself, and that in turn depended on the skill level of the Lootsmith. If you're Griefborn? Well, better to not get your hopes up. During the Worldbox Festival, though, all rates for every Lootbox are increased. Another thing nobody really understood, but scholars believe its thanks to the last gift from Poe Tenshal himself. The namesake of the festival, and the giant Lootbox that sat at the center of Prusperis City. The boost was why Tayka found himself in front of a Vendor's stall. A very shabby looking stall at that. Much like everything down in the Slums the structure was cobbled together using pieces of scrap metal, and wood that was so rotted it would crumble if you so much as breathed on it.

Even with such an appearance the Vendor still had the gall to charge Uppercity prices. Very much to the chagrin of the seventeen year old. However there wasn't really many options down here, so like they say: beggars can't be choosers. Thanks to today's particular purchase Tayka had lost about three quarters of the funds he had been saving up. He'd been holding onto that cash for half the year for this purpose, but it was still a real punch to the gut to see it all go away. It was worth it for the festival. It had to be worth it. With an exasperated sigh Tayka placed the box into his pack tucked under his short cloak that fell just a little beyond his elbows. It'd be nice to open it now, but he had to save it for tomorrow. Raising a gloved hand to his brow he looked to the sky. It was a little passed noon now. Time for a lunch break.

Finding a nice, and readily abundant, piece of debris off to one side of the main street; the teen took a seat. Pulling his pack out to rummage through it. Unsure how long his shopping was going to take he made sure to pack a light meal. Tayka had rolled a few food boxes earlier in the morning, and managed to get himself a piece of bread, a slice of cheese, and a whole onion. Not exactly fine dining, but it was better than the pack of unsalted crackers he got for dinner the previous night at least... While digging around the contents of the bag Tayka found the family heirloom he kept on his person. Well, his father called it as such, but really it was just a stupid oversized coin. The old man even had the nerve to call it a 'lucky charm', but Tayka could only scoff at that.