(A/N):
Thanks for the support!!!
Drop a meme here that you find funny. Or reflects your mood.
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Meanwhile, the discovery of the Royal Lucky Ticket completely changed how millions of players approached Super Mario.
What had initially been dismissed as a funny hidden side quest suddenly became one of the hottest topics across UniNet.
Not because of the one million credit grand prize.
But because people had finally realized something.
The Royal Fortune Hall wasn't just a lottery.
It was an entire hidden reward system.
Players who managed to complete the secret plumbing mission would receive the Royal Lucky Ticket.
Instead of immediately spinning for rewards, they first had to pay a certain amount of in-game credits to activate the draw.
Many initially complained.
Until they entered the reward hall.
The place itself looked magnificent.
Golden chandeliers illuminated an enormous circular hall.
Rows of beautifully decorated display shelves stretched into the distance.
Each showcased different rewards.
Some ordinary.
Some rare.
Some legendary.
Every item had a visible stock counter floating beside it.
Royal Plumber Outfit (Gold Edition)
Remaining Stock
4,891 / 5,000
Bowser's Royal Cape
Remaining Stock
937 / 1,000
Rainbow Kart Paint Collection
Remaining Stock
2,413 / 3,000
Golden Mushroom Companion
Remaining Stock
584 / 600
Crystal Warp Pipe Housing Decoration
Remaining Stock
176 / 200
Every few seconds...
The numbers dropped.
4,890...
4,889...
4,888...
People stood frozen.
The rewards weren't unlimited.
If someone bought one...
Everyone else could actually see the stock decrease in real time.
That alone created a completely unexpected sense of urgency.
💬 [@PipeHunter_09: WAIT. THE STOCK IS UNIVERSAL?]
💬 [@ViewerPrime: BUY IT NOW.]
💬 [@ChaosEnjoyer999: STOP LOOKING. JUST BUY.]
Within minutes, the Royal Fortune Hall became one of the busiest locations in the game.
The funniest part...
Almost nobody won the million credits.
Instead...
They walked away carrying armfuls of other rewards.
One player entered with the sole purpose of chasing the grand prize.
Twenty minutes later, he exited wearing an exclusive royal plumber outfit, carrying a glowing mushroom companion, riding a limited-edition kart, and decorating his virtual home with crystal pipes.
His UniNet post immediately went viral.
💬 [@GalaxyBuilder: I entered to become a millionaire. I left as a shopping addict.]
The replies appeared instantly.
💬 [@RainbowDrifter: The real treasure was consumerism.]
💬 [@ViewerPrime: Bowser couldn't defeat us... Our own spending habits did.]
💬 [@ChaosEnjoyer999: I've officially been robbed. And I'll probably go back tomorrow.]
The comment section erupted with laughter.
Meanwhile, players began optimizing routes specifically for the hidden quest.
Entire communities were dedicated to discovering the fastest plumbing route.
"Repair Pipe Three first."
"No."
"Take the eastern tunnel."
"You'll save twelve seconds."
"Don't alert the second patrol."
"They always turn around after seven seconds."
Guides.
Maps.
Videos.
Entire strategy channels appeared almost overnight.
Many players began repeating the quest every day.
Not because they believed they would win the million credits.
Most of them knew the odds.
One percent remained one percent.
They returned because the hidden quest itself had become enjoyable.
Because every successful run earned more in-game credits.
Because every completed mission meant another visit to the Royal Fortune Hall.
Because another limited reward might disappear tomorrow.
One player summed it up perfectly.
💬 [@SoftGalaxy: I've attempted the lottery twenty-three times.]
Someone immediately replied.
💬 [@RingDingWarrior: Did you win?]
His answer appeared seconds later.
[I won... Three exclusive costumes. Five decorative items. A legendary kart skin. A pet mushroom. And absolutely no self-control.]
The post received millions of likes.
Even LumiNyx couldn't resist.
She started a livestream titled:
"Today... We Become Millionaires."
Three hours later...
She still hadn't won the grand prize.
Instead, her inventory had nearly doubled in size.
She stared silently at the reward screen before looking at her chat.
"I think..."
"...the lottery has been winning us."
Her viewers exploded with laughter.
Meanwhile, inside Star Entertainment's development office, Milo Vex projected another analytics report.
The graph showed player activity around the Royal Fortune Hall.
"It worked."
He looked almost amazed.
"People aren't frustrated by losing."
Veysha Quill smiled knowingly.
"They're leaving with something every time."
She pointed toward another graph.
"The grand prize is the dream."
She then highlighted the rewards below it.
"But these are what keep them coming back."
Krishna quietly studied the numbers.
Exactly as he had expected.
The impossible reward caught people's attention.
The meaningful rewards kept them satisfied.
And because every item had a limited visible stock, players naturally felt motivated to earn enough credits before their favorite rewards disappeared.
Looking at the steadily rising player engagement, Krishna smiled faintly.
The one-million-credit prize had become the headline across UniNet.
But Star Entertainment's greatest success wasn't the jackpot.
It was that millions of players were happily enjoying the journey long before they ever reached the lottery wheel.
As the days passed, something rather amusing began happening inside Super Mario.
Logically...
Every player knew the odds.
The grand prize carried only a one percent chance.
Any sensible person would stop after a few attempts.
...
Unfortunately for common sense...
The Royal Fortune Hall had become the greatest enemy of common sense.
Every time a player finished the hidden plumbing quest, the beautifully decorated reward hall would welcome them once again.
The golden wheel slowly rotated before their eyes.
The million-credit prize shimmered at the very top.
Almost mockingly.
Then the confirmation window appeared.
[Use your earned credits to participate?
YES
NO]
Thousands of players confidently pressed No.
Then they stared at the screen.
For several seconds.
The million-credit icon continued sparkling.
Almost as if it were calling them.
One player later described the experience on UniNet.
💬 [@PipeHunter_09: I swear... Every time I try to leave... I can hear someone whispering... One million credits... Just one press away...]
The comment section exploded.
💬 [@ViewerPrime: I HEAR IT TOO.]
💬 [@ChaosEnjoyer999: THE WHEEL HAS MIND CONTROL.]
💬 [@RainbowDrifter: I CLOSED THE MENU. OPENED IT AGAIN. I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY.]
💬 [@SoftGalaxy: My finger presses YES automatically now.]
Within hours...
That imaginary whisper became a meme across UniNet.
People edited videos.
Whenever the reward screen appeared...
A dramatic whisper would play.
"One..."
"Million..."
"Credits..."
"Just..."
"One..."
"Press..."
"Away..."
Millions laughed.
Then immediately returned to the game...
...and pressed YES anyway.
One streamer spent twenty minutes convincing himself not to participate.
"I don't need it."
"I've already got every costume."
"I've got enough decorations."
"I've got enough kart skins."
"I'm leaving."
He turned around.
Walked three steps.
Stopped.
Slowly looked back at the glowing wheel.
His chat immediately knew what was happening.
💬 [@ViewerPrime: HE'S TURNING AROUND.]
💬 [@RingDingWarrior: HE'S GONNA DO IT.]
💬 [@ChaosEnjoyer999: THE VOICES.]
The streamer sighed dramatically.
"...Fine."
"One last attempt."
The chat exploded into laughter.
Inside Star Entertainment's analytics dashboard, another interesting statistic appeared.
Average Lottery Attempts Per Player
...
Higher than expected.
Milo Vex blinked.
"They're voluntarily spending everything."
Veysha Quill looked equally surprised.
"No..."
"They're happily spending everything."
The room laughed.
Of course...
The grand prize remained elusive.
Day after day.
Thousands participated.
Then tens of thousands.
Then hundreds of thousands.
Yet...
No announcement appeared.
No millionaire.
No celebration.
Slowly...
A strange theory began spreading across UniNet.
💬 [@GalaxySkeptic: I've come to a conclusion.]
Replies immediately appeared.
"What?"
[The million credits ...don't exist.]
The post gained millions of views.
💬 [@PipeHunter_09: I've spun sixty-three times.]
💬 [@LuckyPlumber: Ninety-one.]
💬 [@RainbowRunner: One hundred and twelve.]
💬 [@ViewerPrime: At this point the million credits are basically ancient mythology.]
Soon...
Entire communities embraced the joke.
The Million Credit Myth
People created fake historical documentaries.
"Legend tells of an ancient plumber..."
"Who once saw..."
"The One Million Credits..."
Another meme showed Bowser sitting on top of a mountain of gold.
Caption:
"He won it."
Another replied:
"Source?"
"Trust me."
Even LumiNyx joined the joke during one of her broadcasts.
She crossed her arms dramatically.
"I've reached a scientific conclusion."
Her viewers waited.
"The one million credits..."
She pointed toward the reward wheel.
"...are propaganda."
The chat instantly exploded.
💬 [@ChaosEnjoyer999: THEY NEVER EXISTED.]
💬 [@ViewerPrime: THE REAL MILLION CREDITS WERE THE FRIENDS WE MADE.]
💬 [@RingDingWarrior: NO. THE REAL MILLION CREDITS WERE THE COSMETICS WE BOUGHT.]
LumiNyx couldn't stop laughing.
Meanwhile, inside Star Entertainment, Krishna quietly looked at the statistics.
Nearly everyone was walking away with useful rewards.
Exclusive outfits.
Rare companions.
Decorative items.
Limited collectibles.
Kart customizations.
Players rarely left empty-handed.
Yet...
Almost every one of them still returned.
Not because they needed another costume.
Not because they needed another decoration.
But because somewhere in the back of their minds...
A tiny voice kept whispering...
"What if the next spin is the one?"
Krishna smiled faintly before closing the report.
The one-million-credit reward had become more than a prize.
It had become a legend.
A running joke shared across the galaxy.
And judging by the ever-growing number of daily lottery attempts...
Legends, even unbelievable ones, had a remarkable way of keeping people coming back.
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(Author's POV)
(A/N):
Check my new Fan fic: Karuppan: King of Openings
Thanks for reading the chapter!
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