The Forgotten Daily Lottery

Shi Mo lay listlessly on the expensive leather sofa in Bai Xu's villa living room, gazing at the uniquely designed chandelier on the ceiling.

He'd been in this human world—or more accurately, thrown into this "game" by his sealed powers—for almost ten days now. Aside from entering two low-level dungeons and observing one A-level dungeon, he'd spent most of his time in a state of…idleness. This had left him feeling rather bored.

"System," he lazily called out in his mind.

"Yes, host!" The system's electronic voice responded immediately, tinged with a hint of cautious tension.

"Your so-called 'Multiverse Counterattack System,'" Shi Mo drawled, his voice dripping with undisguised disdain, "besides watching the show with me and occasionally reminding me of some 'common sense,' what use is it anyway? Don't you think it's utterly useless?"

He was just bored and making a casual comment. After all, in his long life, he had seen countless auxiliary creations, most of which had fancy functions, but there were very few like this system... with such a weak presence and seemingly useless features.

However, as soon as he finished speaking, a sound mixed with electrical noise, data corruption, and a kind of sobbing noise came to his mind.

[Waaah... Host...] The system's electronic voice suddenly became extremely aggrieved, with a trembling tone of despair. [I... I admit I'm a bit useless... but I really didn't mean to!]

Shi Mo: "...?"

This reaction seems to be different from what he expected?

"This is my first time binding with a host!" the system cried out, its voice trembling with tears. "I haven't even fully digested the factory training, and I've been directly deployed! And my first mission is to be bound to... someone like you!"

It paused, its voice filled with lingering fear and confusion: "I...I scanned your soul wavelength...the database immediately went off the rails! Access level? Unknown! Danger assessment? Off the charts! Form of existence? Incomprehensible! I...my core program almost crashed from fright! All that training on 'guiding the host,' 'issuing task chains,' 'operating the exchange mall'...I...I forgot it all in my nervousness! Just being able to barely maintain basic functions, help you adapt to the human body and rules, and monitor the instance's dynamics is already an overachievement! Waaaaah...I really tried my best!"

The system grew increasingly distraught, its data stream brimming with self-doubt and procedural sorrow. "I...I know I'm useless, I've disgraced you, host...If you're really not satisfied, you can format me..." Finally, it even offered this suggestion in despair, though its dread was palpable.

As Shi Mo listened to the system's heartfelt (?) lament in his mind, his impatience dissipated considerably, and he even found it somewhat...amusing.

So, it turns out it's a terrified newbie system? On its first day on the job, it ran into this "unconventional" BOSS, leaving it completely flustered and forgetting most of the basic functions?

He rubbed his temples, feeling a bit absurd, yet also somewhat expected. After all, his very existence was indeed an unbearable "information shock" for many low- or medium-dimensional creations.

"Alright, stop wailing." Shi Mo interrupted the system's imagined "deathbed lament." "It's giving me a headache. So, what features did you forget?"

The system immediately stopped "crying," and the data flow stabilized somewhat, but it still carried a hint of fear: "[A lot... such as the daily quest module, the achievement system, dungeon reward bonuses, and... most importantly, the daily welfare module!]"

"Daily benefits?"

"It's...it's the daily lottery!" the system hurriedly explained. "It refreshes at midnight every day, and you can draw a reward for free once! Although the prize pool isn't as amazing as the newbie gift pack, there are still some useful items, attribute points, or resources...I...I completely forgot about that!" It then fell into deep self-reproach.

Shi Mo raised an eyebrow. A daily lottery? That sounds more interesting than just lying around doing nothing.

"So, I missed a few days?"

The system quickly calculated, its voice even lower: "Nine...nine days...from the time of binding until today, a total of nine days..."

"..." Shi Mo paused for a moment, "So, you mean I lost nine chances to win the lottery? Because you forgot?"

The system's electronic voice was almost on the verge of tears: 【Y-yes... Host, I'm sorry! I really didn't mean to! I can use the only bit of energy I have left to give you an extra draw! Please don't be angry! I'll definitely try harder to remember in the future!】

Shi Mo was already numb to the system's anxieties and couldn't be bothered to argue with this terrified newbie program about the missing rewards. "Bring out the lottery wheel and add the one you compensated me for."

【Okay, okay! Right away!】The system was overjoyed and immediately projected a virtual roulette wheel into Shi Mo's mind. This roulette wheel was simpler than the previous beginner's wheel, and the divisions were more detailed. Most of the areas were white (normal) and green (good), with a small number of blue (excellent) and very few purple (rare) areas.

"Begin." Shi Mo gave the command with his mind.

The roulette wheel immediately began to spin rapidly.

[Ding! Lottery complete! Congratulations, host, you have received: 1 attribute point!]

[Ding! Lottery complete! Congratulations, host, you have obtained: C-grade weapon [Sharp Dagger] x1!]

[Ding! Lottery complete! Congratulations, host, you have received: 1 attribute point!]

[Ding! Lottery complete! Congratulations, host, you have obtained: 1 x B-grade item [High-Efficiency Repair Potion]!]

[Ding! Lottery complete! Congratulations, host, you have received: 1 attribute point!]

[Ding! Lottery complete! Congratulations, host, you have received: 1 attribute point!]

[Ding! Lottery complete! Congratulations, host, you have received: 1 attribute point!]

[Ding! Lottery complete! Congratulations, host, you have obtained: 1 x B-grade item [High-Efficiency Repair Potion]!]

[Ding! Lottery complete! Congratulations, host, you have received: 1 attribute point!]

[Ding! Lottery complete! Congratulations, host, you have received: 1 attribute point!]

The ten draws ended quickly. The results were fairly useful: a C-grade dagger, two B-grade repair potions, and a total of seven attribute points.

[Host! You're incredibly lucky!] The system tried to make its voice sound more cheerful. [Seven attribute points! And two bottles of Grade B potions, which will be very useful in a critical moment!]

Shi Mo looked at the specks of light floating in his sea of ​​consciousness. He wasn't exactly satisfied, but it was better than nothing. Given his current condition, any enhancement to his body, no matter how small, would be superfluous.

"So," he said calmly, "how should I use these seven attribute points?"

The system immediately perked up and brought up a rudimentary properties panel (it had finally remembered this basic function):

[Host: Shi Mo]

Strength: 7 (far exceeding that of ordinary people)

Agility: 7 (far exceeding average)

Physical fitness: 7 (far exceeding average)

Spirit: 7 (far exceeding the average person)

*Note: The average score for each attribute of an average adult male is approximately 5 points.

"Host, you can freely allocate your attribute points to Strength, Agility, Constitution, and Spirit," the system explained, its tone slightly more professional than before, seemingly regaining some of its "system" feel.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

(Ahem... um... (rubbing hands together, eyes darting around))

First, raise the white flag! I confess! I admit it! Regarding this daily lottery—actually, it seems, probably… I, the author, forgot about it (flips fingers).

Hmm! And then, very casually (and extremely irresponsibly), I shoved the blame onto the innocent system's head! (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧ (System: 【? Are you being polite?】)

From now on, I'll try my best to tattoo the setting on my forehead (not really), so as to minimize the blame on the system! It's just a child! (System: [Thanks for the invitation, already corrupted.])

Love you all! Mwah! (´ε｀ )♡）