After signing the document Tchadd handed to me, the one in which I swore that I would work for his company for all of eternity, something that appeared to be a pond appeared near the first base.

"All you need to do now is jump into the portal. I'll give you more instructions once you’ve gotten settled in the next world." Tchadd turned and began to walk away, the smog reappearing as he faded away.

I stepped to the portal almost automatically, the words of the contract resounding in my mind. My reflection began to reach out to me beyond the barrier of the water, and it began pulling me in. I saw its - my - eyes, burning in a deep, passionate red. Its gentle hand grasping mine, not dragging me forward but inviting me inward.

After being submerged for a few seconds, I managed to get my head above the water again. The sun indicated that it was probably around noon, and there were only a few puffy clouds in the sky. Well, they appeared to be clouds anyways, it was hard to be sure because they all seemed to have faces on them. I wasn't sure if this was the onset of mental illness or if this was just how this world was.

I made my way to the edge of the pond and struggled to climb out. Now out of the pond, I pulled my long, now blueish hair away from my delicate face. The hair color thing was strange change, but it didn't bother me much. I noticed that I had oversized, blue bathrobe on over my clothes now, with the words "Ghoudd Insurance" printed onto the breast pocket. After attempting to wring out my clothes, I examined the surroundings, which were seemingly doing the same to me.

It was a shrine of sorts, the song of carnations ringing in my ears. Structures of stone brick, clearly ageing, overpowering but not towering, established an aura of safety. I had never been into feng shui or anything like that, but there definitely was something to the stones that circled me. Remembering that I had a mission to accomplish, I started toward the exit of the shrine.

Just as I was about to reach the exit, a little boy turned the corner and bumped into me, knocking us both down. He was dressed in a loose-fitted, brownish tunic. It was in a pretty rough condition, indicating that he'd probably had it for a long time. He had bright inquisitive eyes that suggested a sharp mind.

"Sorry Miss! I didn't think anyone would be here so early in the morning, especially not on a day like this! Are you ok?" I was shocked that the boy knew English already. Being in another world sure has its perks!

"Yeah, I'm chill. What's the latest around here?"

The boy paused for a bit, I guess my world's jargon didn't really work in a place like this.

"Umm... Not a lot I don't think. I guess maybe if you're not from around here... you could go ask a grown-up or something?"

"I see... and where could I find someone like this?"

"Someone like this?" The boy paused for a moment, clearly confused, "Oh, a grown-up? Maybe you could talk to my father! Our family runs a tavern so he'd probably be able to help you."

"What's a tavern? Is that like a bar?" I asked. During my time on earth, I only went to restaurants if they had earned two or more michelin stars. I'd never been anywhere referred to as a 'tavern.'

The boy stood still for a few seconds, processing my words. Maybe I should've been a bit more careful.

"Wow! You must be from somewhere really far away, then! Taverns are where travelers go to eat, drink, and sleep when they're on the road." The boy's eyes glowed with passion, probably out of admiration for the service his parents provided.

"Yeah, I'm not from, for lack of better words, here."

"Right... Well, I can show you how to get there if you don’t know your way around yet! You must be cold with your clothes being wet and all."

"Yeah, that would be, for lack of better words, lovely." Little did the boy know, I did have better words.

"Ok..." The boy grabbed my hand and started bringing me to his father's tavern. On the way, I was able to surmise that this was a generic fantasy type world. All of the usual amenities were here. A big guild hall, a potion shop, a magic shop, a slave shop, the whole shabang.

Immediately, I saw an opportunity. I shoved the kid away and began walking toward the slave shop.

Upon entering, I was surprised to see that it was very clean and orderly. Well, that was if you ignored the emaciated slaves chained to the walls.

"How much could I get for selling myself into slavery?" I figured that I'd probably fetch a decently high price. After all, during my time on earth, I had won a lifetime of haircuts from a world class barber, free access to any dermatologist, and thousands of high-end beauty products. All of these came from Sweepstakes of course, and there was no doubt that I’d be able to use that same luck to win my freedom back if I needed to. The shopkeeper was an old, shriveled up man with an impressive hunchback and he wore a large, oversized robe that hid his face.

"Interesting question... interesting indeed. I'm afraid that humans aren't legally allowed to be sold as slaves in this country anymore. Only monsters are allowed to be enslaved here. Regardless, if you need money that badly... Well, there's always work to do."

Frustrated, I began searching my belongings for some kind of overpowered weapon or device. I'd read enough isekai stories to know that I should at least get to bring one thing with me, so I was hoping it'd be some kind of legendary sword or something along those lines, but even after several arduous minutes of searching my bag, I came up dry.

"Are you going to be here all day?"

"Wait, just give me a minute." The old man started tapping his foot obnoxiously loud, increasing the volume every few seconds, obviously getting impatient.

An idea came to mind. What if my power was not a physical artifact, but an ability? And, even further, what if it was something that I've had with me all along?

I thought back to my talents. The obvious answer was my Sweepstaking expertise. Surely, there must be sweepstakes in this world as well, or at least something that resembles them.

I spoke to the shopkeeper.

"Are you familiar... with Sweepstaking?" It might have been a strange question, but the answer he gave would determine how I got things done in this world.

"I've never heard of such a thing. But, seeing as you've been here for quite some time, I'm going to have to ask you to leave. I have other customers too, you know."

"That's acceptable, but I have one more simple query. Am I, by chance, the 10,000th customer you've had since opening your shop?"

"Please leave." The shopkeeper gestured to the door.

"Let's make it a bet then. If I'm your 10,000th customer, you have to give me one free slave. If not, I'll leave."

"This is the last time I'll ask politely. Please leave. There are other customers waiting."

"But just answer me. Am I your 10,000th customer? Forget about the bet, I'm just curious."

"I don't keep records on this sort of thing. If you keep acting this way, I'm going to have to force you out."

But, just as I was losing hope, another customer on the other side of the shop chimed in. "Hey, that's not true! You told me just a few minutes ago that I was your 9,999th customer!"

The old man took his hood off, revealing his flushed face. He tried to scare me with a mean glare, but I just smiled.

"Even if you are the 10,000th customer, I'm not required to give you anything as a reward. Leave."

"Oh really, then what's that on your desk? It seems to be a document saying that you'd give a free slave to your 10,000th customer." It was a game of cat and mouse, and the poor guy never stood a chance. Other customers were getting angry. Surely it was at him for not keeping his end of the bargain, rather than me holding up the line. "If you can't keep your word on something like this, why should you expect your customers to trust that you haven't been ripping them off this whole time?"

"Damn it, you're making my customers antsy.” The shopkeeper sighed, "Fine, I'll do it. Here's the key to the chains," his voice dripping in disdain, "Pick any slave you see."

I greedily snatched the keys from his hand. It was clear now that I was destined to become the most powerful person in this world, assuming my sweepstaking powers really did transfer. It was time to pick out my slave.