Chapter 7161: The Right Spin Radiant lottery tickets were fairly high-end, which meant that the prizes that Ves could draw from them were always premium goods. The prize wheel clearly drew from a pool that contained a large variety of powerful enlightenment fruits. The symbols at the edge of the wheel made tantalizing promises. Their vagueness and lack of explanations stimulated the imaginations of the three mech designers. "Look at this dagger, Ves. It gives off the impression that you can suck out someone’s soul if you manage to stab them in the body." "This collection of blurred spears is likely based around speed. You can unleash 10 attacks in the same time your opponent launches a single attack." "Wow! Look at this spear skill! A phoenix is launched from the spear! I wonder whether the summoned phoenix is alive. This must be a great way to soften up an opponent from a distance." "This looks like a skill designed to slay giants. I wonder how it works." There were over a hundred different prizes in the pool. The lack of clarification made it difficult for Ves to narrow down his selection and favor one prize over another. Nonetheless, he needed to carry on with the process. After examining every symbol one by one, Ves made a shortlist on the symbols that held the most promise from his perspective. He let his wife and his former student take a look at his list so that they could offer him feedback. "You have put the penetrating spear skill at the top of your list." Ketis noted. "Yes. Is that wrong?" "Not necessarily, but... the gains will likely be similar to the previous enlightenment fruit that you have absorbed. The new skill will only make you better at performing stabbing attacks with a spear. What about defense? What about the other moves? I know you have a foundation in wielding staves, but this is different." The swordmaster raised a decent point, but Ves still believed that this was a decent choice. "I do not mind it if all I get out of this fruit is a killer solution. The only reason why I am still keeping my options open is because I am not sure whether it is effective against energy defenses. If there is no special benefit in this aspect, then what I will get is not that useful in the initial stages of a fight. I will have to wear down the first layer of defense of an Ascended Giant the hard way. At least I should be able to produce more results by stabbing my spear more effectively." "If you want to do that, you are better off with learning how to launch your attacks much faster than normal." Ketis advised and pointed at the third item on his shortlist. "You pretty much know what you will get if you aim for this prize. There is not as much room interpretation. The ability to launch attacks faster than your opponents will not necessarily let you win a duel, but it is an undeniable advantage. The only downside is whether your body can persist in this long enough and how much faster your stamina will drain in combat." Every fighting method had its strengths and weaknesses. One was not necessarily superior to the others. The most suitable fighting skill depended on whether it fit his own inclinations and whether it was effective against his upcoming opponents. "I think you should think about going for your fourth choice." Gloriana mentioned as she studied his shortlist. "I know that you don’t specialize in the fire element, but the ability to shoot out a phoenix from your spear is a much safer way to fight against phase lords who excel at close quarters combat. This is a skill that synergizes well with Blinky, who can shape and command the fire element in the Dark Apostle’s stead." Her suggestion sounded good. This was the key reason why he placed this skill under consideration despite not possessing a strong preference over mastering a fire-based skill. Most of the skills offered by the prize wheel did not focus all that much on using the spear as a medium to launch spells. While that basically conformed to his initial demands, if the alternatives were good enough, then Ves was more than willing to change his mind. A phoenix was one of the most impressive mythological symbols associated with the fire element. Any skill that claimed an association with a phoenix had to be powerful. His ability to wield this skill upon acquisition would most likely be limited by how extensively Blinky could call upon fire energy and how well he was able to apply the newly mastered techniques. One big concern was whether this skill was powerful enough in a medium-energy environment. A phase lord was a physically imposing adversary whose defenses were always formidable. Spraying such an adversary with flames might not work, especially if the power of those fire attacks turned out to be disappointing. Perhaps Ves could enhance the power of this skill by incorporating flamethrowers in his weapon or his raiment. That may be a good way to amplify the potency of his skills. "You need to make up your mind." Ketis reminded him. "Many of these skills are located far apart on the prize wheel. If you target one skill, you will have to give up on acquiring the others. That is assuming that you manage to spin the wheel with the right force." She was right. Ves had to make a lot of hard choices when he formulated his shortlist, but this was not enough for him to complete the prize draw. He closed his eyes. He had reached the limits of his decisiveness by drawing upon his logic. Now, he chose to make his final choice by basing it on feel. Which one called to him more? Which skill would he or his alter ego enjoy mastering the most? Which skill promised to deliver the greatest satisfaction? Ves kept all of this in mind and more as his heart meandered back and forth between the different choices. It ultimately settled on the second item on the shortlist. It did not surprise him too much that he ended up picking it. While it came with an ominous implication, he believed it was a perfect fit for the Dark Apostle. His wife and the swordmaster expressed more ambivalence at his final selection. "This skill..." Gloriana trailed. "It shows a spear being wielded by a man who wears a horned helmet. The wielder may have undergone a transformation, but the symbol does not make that entirely clear. It also does not explain whether this transformation is temporary or permanent." "I think it is only a temporary effect. Even if it is permanent, there should be solutions available that can reverse the process." "Why favor this one over the others?" "Because it isn’t as flashy." Ves responded. "The other skills promise to make me launch my attacks faster, or have them punch through armor. These are flashy abilities, but they are a bit one-dimensional. My upcoming opponents can use targeted strategies or other solutions to limit the effectiveness of my new capabilities. It will be harder for them to counter me if my new skill is a lot more comprehensive." Ketis understood his argument. "I can understand your logic. This indeed appears to be a skill that does not only transform you into a stronger state, but also lets you wield your spear with greater skill. If that was not the case, the symbol would not have included the weapon." There had to be something special about this skill. Ves did not have any hunches or anything that led him to believe that it was better than the others. He just believed that it offered a better fit than the other choices. Ves finally moved forward. He stepped to the side of the large wheel and grabbed hold of it before pulling it down to spin the wheel. "Damn! This wheel is lighter than I thought!" He only intended to exert a light amount of force in order to build up initial momentum and get a better feel of how much more force he had to put into it, but the prize wheel largely ruined his plan by being so light that it could already complete an entire revolution with the initial pull! Ves suppressed his panic and tried his best to adapt to the changing situation. He rapidly scanned the wheel and tried his best to figure out how to end up at the exact right angle to win his targeted prize. It was originally situated three-quarters of the way. If the wheel blew right past it in the first revolution, then Ves had to exert a small amount of force to make sure that it almost completed two revolutions. Ves knew that he also had to make sure to keep it to a light touch as he could already feel that the wheel did not endure that much friction. Its deceleration rate was not as much as last time, which further complicated his attempt to obtain the right prize. After he felt he had given the wheel enough momentum to complete a 630 degree spin, he let go and stepped back. Just as expected, the wheel did not spit quickly, but it did not slow down as fast either. It was agonizing to see it complete a lazy spin while not giving Ves a solid indicator whether it would slow down just enough to end up with the right prize, let alone enter the correct quadrant. "I think this may be the Wishing Fountain’s lesson to us that it is not a shop." Gloriana commented. "We are never in full control, no matter how much we try to manipulate the outcome. A lottery must always remain a game of chance. If the outcome is predetermined, then it should go by a different name." Ketis crossed her arms. "I am not sure about that. I think that there is a surprising degree of symbolism to how this Wishing Fountain grants us agency when we use up the more valuable lottery tickets. It may be a lesson that teaches us that as we gain more strength, we gain more and more control over our environment. The stronger we become, the more we can shape our surroundings according to our will. This is the universal truth of power." Ves was not so sure that there was so much depth behind the Wishing Fountain. His own personal explanation was that the System simply teased him and sought to subvert his expectations. The wheel had passed one revolution by now. It had also slowed down by a measure, but still retained plenty of momentum. Ves grew increasingly more nervous. While it would not be a disaster if the prize wheel delivered a different result than expected, he may have to rethink his entire approach towards the leadership challenge if he obtained anything weird. As the wheel slowly reached the right quadrant, it slowed down by a much greater extent. It continued to spin in a lazy fashion, taking a little more time to shift from one prize to another. Multiple agonizing seconds passed as the wheel finally reached the right prize. The wheel kept moving at a very slow pace and almost threatened to select the next prize instead. It stopped. "Yes!" Ves immediately felt relief! "I’m so good!" "How?!" Gloriana looked gobsmacked. "This is a highly improbable result! How could you end up with the right prize when you did not perform any precise calculations beforehand?" Ketis smiled. "Not everything has to be done by calculating your moves in advance. Confidence and intuition can help you bridge the gap. You should try it yourself if you end up in a similar position." Ves could not entirely explain why he succeeded this time, but he didn’t really care. He already gazed hungrily at the Wishing Fountain as a pillar finally rose up from the water and presented a dark but glowing enlightenment fruit.