Post-Apocalyptic Dispatch Society

Swish!

A feather flew across the air, speeding towards a lady holding a long-barrelled gun in her hand, at speeds beyond what she could see.

But, the lady scraped the soles of her shoes on the floor, sensing the moment she slipped, furthering her action as she slipped faster, evading the feather well in advance.

The feather made an abrupt turn in the air, heading towards her shoulder from behind her. Even though she wasn't able to see it, the lady felt a sudden urge to scratch her knee, bending accordingly as she fell to the ground, hearing a thud beside her.

Only now did she open her eyes, watching a feather lodged into the ground right next to her shoulder, cutting a portion of her sleeve in response.

"You're getting good at relying on Coincidental Luck." A man's voice full of praise resounded as the lady, Xuna got up, exhausted but chirpy.

She laughed in response, "Even though I cannot see Luck as you had said, I can at least feel when Coincidental Luck is taking effect."

"Yeah, as it works through coincidences, most of the triggers regarding it would be something silly like scratching an itch or slipping on the floor for no reason." Rhizen nodded.

He then looked at her gun, "But, you've yet to fire a single shot. This won't do."

"But, I have to focus all my attention just to evade your feathers. If I tried to retaliate, I'll just mess up." Xuna said, scratching her cheeks, "They are too fast…"

Swoosh!

Her words failed to come out as she felt a prickling sensation throughout her body, shuddering in response to see that everything below her neck was covered by a layer of feathers. The feathers pointed at her, gently touching her, packed like sardines as it felt like she was wearing jute clothes on bare skin.

From below her neck, there wasn't even a portion that wasn't covered by the feathers. Even if she were to pour water over them, the water wouldn't reach her skin. They were that densely packed.

Rhizen exhaled lightly, causing all the feathers to dissipate as he observed her ashen face, "My feathers aren't even moving at their natural speed. The speed I'm making them move is something that you're already able to evade and counter."

"I've already calculated it based on your current capability." Rhizen said, stopping before her as he extended his hand, propping her up, "So, don't shut yourself up and block off the possibilities."

"As someone supported by Coincidental Luck, you should be open to all possibilities, no matter how absurd they seem. Only with that mindset would you be able to harness this power to its full potential." He spoke.

"Yes, I'll keep that in mind, master." Xuna nodded, asking after a moment of thought, "Would I be able to use Coincidental Luck to defend myself? Is it useful for things other than evasion in a battle?"

"Of course, it is." Rhizen smirked as he pointed at his forehead, "I'll show it now. Just shoot me anywhere you wish."

"C-Can I?" Xuna was stunned for a moment before asking. "Wouldn't I harm you?"

"That's impossible, so don't worry about that." Rhizen said casually, "All forms of Luck can exhibit this to a certain extent if their wielder possesses a decent quantity of them. But, Coincidental Luck takes it a step further."

"Then…" Xuna gripped her gun tighter, suddenly aiming at Rhizen's shoulder before pressing the trigger.

The bullet flew out at terrifying speeds, condensed with a dense amount of Nacre, approaching the targeted spot.

A couple of seconds earlier, in the fireplace of the living room where the maid had been stirring the firewood, a piece of wood had turned bright red from the heat. Unfortunately, unlike the rest of the firewood, it wasn't burning due to the hollow within it.

And somehow, volatile gases had seeped into this hollow, combusting as they absorbed all the heat from the fire licking the piece of wood. Due to that, the air pressure within the space continued to build up to alarming levels as somehow, the shape of the hollow ensured the wood didn't break so easily.

But this was only a matter of time as the air pressure eventually reached a terrifying level before the air pressed onto a direction that seemed weaker than the rest, causing a small piece of the wood to break off.

This allowed all the pressurised gas to flow out through the gap, causing the wood fragment to be shot like a bullet. The flames from the fireplace made a small arc in the air before dissipating while the wood fragment flew straight towards Rhizen, slamming dead centre into the bullet approaching his shoulder.

The momentum of the two resulted in the clash, changing their directions as the wood fragment burned up from the sheer heat that formed during the collision while the Nacre bullet changed directions, missing Rhizen's shoulder as it slammed into the wall behind him.

"What the…?" Xuna was shocked, staring at the dissipating flames that burst out of the fireplace, also noticing black fumes before Rhizen's shoulder that resulted from the wood fragment burning up, "H-How is this possible?"

"This doesn't make sense!"

"Think of it like this." Rhizen used his feathers to create a bag full of air, holding it before her face as he pressed it, watching the air within blow on her face, causing her hair to flutter, "Do you understand what happened just now?"

"Yeah, the air within the bag flowed out when you pressed it." Xuna nodded, "I can understand this. We even have a musical instrument that produces sound through a similar mechanism. Though, we use goat skin to make that bag."

"Have you ever seen what happened to that instrument if its user played it next to a bonfire?" Rhizen asked.

"Yes, the sound turned weird. And one time, the bag exploded when he tried to forcefully blow into it." Xuna nodded, "Though, this happened in the Fornol Empire. I just thought it was because they didn't know to play the instrument."

Rhizen then used the example to explain the principles of air pressure and its variation regarding temperature. Finally, he spoke, "Similarly, there was air trapped in that piece of firewood that expanded rapidly due to the fire. And when it broke out of the confined space, it sent a fragment of the wood flying in my direction. And it so happened to hit the bullet."

"But, this feels absurd!" Xuna protested, "How did it burst right at this time? How did it have enough force to change the trajectory of my bullet? How did a big enough wood piece hit the bullet? There are too many variables."

"You're right." Rhizen nodded, "There are thousands of variables once you begin to think about it. But, among those variables, a few of them would result in the bullet failing to hit me, right?"

"Yes," Xuna nodded.

In response, Rhizen smiled smugly, "That small chance becomes a definite possibility. That's what wielding Coincidental Luck means."

"And the smaller this chance, the greater the volume of Coincidental Luck you have to expend to evade that outcome." Rhizen said in all seriousness, "So, what should you always ensure to have around you?"

"Um…" Xuna thought, failing to come up with an answer. "Master, I don't know."

"Variables," Rhizen answered, "It doesn't matter what they are. Just ensure that the number of variables around you is as high as possible. That will ensure that Coincidental Luck can save you by expending as little of itself as possible."

"This is the way to defend yourself with Coincidental Luck. And now," He suddenly grinned, observing her luck values, "You have more than enough amount. Let's put it to the test, shall we?"

"What?" Xuna was stunned when suddenly, hundreds of feathers wrapped around her and carried her out of the house, taking her to the air as her figure disappeared.

Two hours later, in a tranquil lake where no human had made an appearance in the past century or beyond, Xuna's screams resounded as her figure plunged into the lake, turning it volatile.

After all, living in this lake was a school of fish capable of shredding any creature in a matter of seconds, similar to piranhas.

"What the?" Xuna was stunned to see the fishes approaching her rapidly, intending to devour her.

Coincidental Luck!

As she had been relying on it until now, her body was still sensitive, allowing her to rely on its effect as her body curled up in response, causing most of the fishes to hinder each other.

Following that, her gun changed its state to the rocket form, unleashing a violent thrust that caused strong undercurrents, pushing away the fishes.

And strangely, the currents worked in her favour, keeping the fishes at bay while she was pushed towards the surface, soon causing her to fly into the air as Xuna changed directions, landing on the shore nearby.

"Haah! That was close…!" She had just uttered as such when a snake sprung up from the nearby bushes, intending to clamp her neck.

Boom!

The thrust from her rocket burst out automatically, unleashing a shockwave that pushed her away while at the same time making a nearby vine whip the snake, causing it to miss its lunge.

The vine coiled around the snake while its thorns pierced through its skin, causing the snake to struggle. After arriving at safety, Xuna remembered Rhizen's advice, keeping her weapon activated as she watched the snake twitching about, its actions only serving to further tangle it with the thorny vine.

"I'll be observing your actions. You have a month to return home." Rhizen's voice resounded in her ears as Xuna looked around, failing to find him.

'A month?' She was shocked, understanding that if she was given such a long time, it meant that she had been brought somewhere far away.

Considering the speed his feathers had displayed before, she was aware that they were capable of travelling a long distance within two hours.

Looking around, all she could see was a dense, sprawling jungle, "Where the heck am I?"