Cherreads

Chapter 1 - The Morning After the Fall

Ji Won woke up with a startle—clutching at his chest, feeling his heart beat so hard and fast it might pop out of his chest if he didn't calm down.

He was in SABH infirmary—the sterile smell was overwhelming his sense of smell to the point it felt like the hairs of his nose had been burnt off.

"I.. The system screen was probably a hallucination..."

He slowly laid back down on the bed in defeat—eyes tearing up once more as he clutched at the bed sheet—his grip so tight that his hand was starting to turn white.

He stared up at the roof, trying his best not to cry but just then—the same screen appeared in front of him as his eyes widened in utter shock and surprise.

"What the..?"

He muttered under his breath as he slowly reached out a sore and shaky hand towards the screen—swiping at it as the screen changed into the usual stat windows you would see in RPG games.

Strength, speed, agility, intelligence, durability all of the stats were there—written on the golden screen in bold black letters with a small plus button in front of each number.

Each stat was at a comfortable ten and in the top right corner was another option—like a tab, holding secrets that he had yet to explore.

When he pressed the tab another screen appeared besides the original—this time the color was a deep black outlined by a small glowing purple.

There were only two buttons on the screen.

Roll.

And above this button was a small slot machine—a small paragraph written besides it.

Unlock your class through the Spin Of Change.The User shall be appointed five different common classes and will need to complete missions to get new ones. After getting a class, you will have to guess the number a dice will land on. Guess the number correctly, and the class is yours. Fail? Then restart. Dear Restless Gambler.

Ji Won took a deep breath—laying back on the bed silently for a few moments—processing what just happened before he started laughing ecstatically—rolling around on the bed like a puppy.

"Alright! Let's... Fucking go!!"

His eyes filled with tears of happiness—for the first time in a while, he felt like he was at the top of the world.

But he was quickly interrupted as the door to the infirmary slowly opened and a man with long white hair wearing a long, white lab coat and a white mask and goggle walked in.

"Mr. Hyuk Ji Won? Are you awake?"

He asked—his voice gentle and comforting as he sat down on a chair besides Ji Won's. 

"I'm your doctor, Healer Nae Jin-ho," He paused, putting a hand on Ji Won's forehead

"You can call me Jin-ho"

Ji Won stared at him with wide eyes—heart still thumping as he recognized this man far too much.

He was one of the best medical minds in Korea, known for basically being the best healer—The Angel Of Healing, Nae Jin-ho.

"Well, go ahead. Tell me why you jumped? I was nearly murdered by your sister for being late."

Ji Won was silent—not knowing how to respond at all. He just stared at Jin-ho who seemed tired and overworked.

"I.."

Ji Won began in a hushed—almost embarrassed tone, catching Jin-ho's attention

"I thought that.. I awakened a system.." 

He lied.

He didn't want to seem vulnerable. Nor did he want to seem idiotic for just jumping off a twenty story building—so that was his only excuse.

Jin-ho raised an eyebrow in confusion as he slowly leaned back into his chair—arms crossed over his chest.

"I see... And did you awaken one?"

He asked—his voice a strange mix of confusion, intrigue and reprimanding.

Ji Won once again paused, contemplating whether or not to tell Jin-ho about his strange 'gambling' system—but. He just decided to go with the flow for now.

"Well.. Yes. I did, I don't have a class yet though... But I already have ten stat points invested."

Jin-ho froze in surprise—he slowly took off his goggles, revealing his deep black eyes that were as wide as saucers underneath from surprise.

"You've... Awakened? Damn... Eun-Jung is gonna have a heart attack... Well, she's currently out in America—clearing gates and stuff..."

He ran a hand through his hair—holding the goggles loosely by the string as the room fell into a deep—thick silence.

The silence went on and on for quite a while, the only sounds were from the clock on the wall ticking away.

Tick... Tick... Tick...

Jin-ho slowly stood up, his heavy sigh breaking through the silence—he put his goggles back on before waving at Ji Won.

"Well.. Later kiddo, your body isn't all healed yet but you should be able to train and stuff so earn points and get strong.. I'll tell your parents about your awakening."

Ji Won gave him a small—thankful smile and waved back at him. Watching as Jin-ho walked out of the room, leaving him alone in the room.

He opened the system screen once more—the window with the slot machine still open and just beckoning him to take it.

Well.. I should try it, beginner's luck is real after all..

He thought to himself as he reached out once more, pressing on the 'roll' button as the 'Gambling Token' count in the corner reached zero and the slot machine started rolling through classes.

There was a small—faint whir that was emitted from the window—like a washing machine tumbling around.

After a few moments that felt like hours—the whir slowly came to an end.

[Congratulations! You have gained access to the Common Class: Dagger User! Roll the dice and guess the number!]

The slot machine glowed softly before it was replaced by a pair of 6 sided dice as Ji Won pressed on them and they started spinning around rapidly.

Guess Ji Won... Guess!!

He took a few deep breaths—unable to calm his nerves down as the dice stopped spinning, the numbers covered up by a smiley face as a question was asked.

[What is the total?]

Ji Won took one final deep breath—biting down on his thumb before speaking.

"Nine.. That's the total I'm guessing.."

The smiley face turned into a frown at his response as it moved away to reveal the number.

The number four on one die, and the number one on the other.

Ji Won sighed deeply, clutching at his hair as he let out a small groan of annoyance and frustration.

[The user has failed in guessing! Missions to regain Gambling Tokens shall be appointed! Pity Points have been allotted, gain one hundred Pity Points to gain free spins!]

Ji Won looked at the screen as a wave of relief washed over him

Thank god I didn't just waste my only opportunity to become stronger.. But I wonder..

He contemplated as he saw the screen slowly change, annoyance still boiling in his mind—making him want to punch something.

What will the mission be about?

More Chapters