"Where the hell am I?" Luke asked nobody in particular.

Where he currently was could be what anyone would think paradise would look like: a place flush with green, trees bearing lots of fruits, animals happily playing around and a waterfall in the background flowing towards a large pool.

"Did... Did I die? Is this perhaps heaven?" he once again asked to nobody as he couldn't figure out why he was in this place as the last thing he remembered was collapsing after the men in suits ran away.

"Yo kid" someone suddenly called him.

Startled by the voice that came out of nowhere, he looked all around him but didn't find anybody which puzzled him even more as he definitely heard someone call him out.

"Look above you kid" the voice called out again.

Looking above him, Luke immediately wanted to curse as what he saw was actually the same large blue frog that appeared in the sky earlier today!

"Fuck! Why is it you?!" he shouted.

"What the hell? What did I ever do to you?" said the frowning frog.

"What did you do to me? OHOHOHO. Okay first of all, after you disappeared, a pack of wolves appeared literally a meter in front of me! Before you left you said that they won't attack unless provoke right? THEN HOW THE HELL WAS I NOT SUPPOSE TO PROVOKE THEM WHEN THEY APPEARED RIGHT IN MY FACE? HUH?! I ALMOST DIED BECAUSE OF THAT!" shouted Luke as he released his grievances to the frog.

"Geez. You didn't die, right? Then that's what matters, besides, I sent all those who were attacked as soon as I left some tangos" the frog nonchalantly replied as if what happened to Luke wasn't a big deal.

Luke truly felt like strangling the frog at that moment but knowing that he couldn't possibly do that, he couldn't help but sigh at how unlucky the world is for having this irresponsible frog be the one to cause big changes to the world.

"Anyway, since you showed up, that means you managed to obtain an ability today, right?" asked the frog, not minding the fact that Luke was fuming inside.

Remembering that he was suddenly brought to an unknown place, Luke calmed himself down and asked the frog "Oh yeah, where exactly are we? I collapsed after a fight before I suddenly appeared here so I have no idea. And yes, I did manage to gain an ability"

"Oh wow. You've been working hard, huh? Well to answer your question, you're not exactly at some other place in earth right now"

"WHAT THE HELL, DID I REALLY DIE? AM I IN HEAVEN THEN?" Luke asked in panic.

"Calm down, you buffoon, you're asleep right now so you're obviously dreaming" answered the frog as if it was obvious.

"Fuck?! So you're just something my brain made up?! What the hell you're as haughty as you were when you showed up in the real world" Luke complained after sighing in relief at the fact that he isn't dead yet

"You foolish mortal! I wanted to reward everyone who managed to obtain an ability on the very first day of the patch so those who were able to do so would meet me in their dream once they fall asleep!" the frog chided.

"Oh. Hehehehehe. Sorry, oh great God, please don't renounce the reward I'm about to receive" Luke immediately replied in respect after hearing about the reward. "Oh btw I've been thinking of this after you left, you're Icefrog, right? DotA's main developer?" he asked in curiosity

"Hmph. At least you know how much of a great God I am. Yeah, I'm the main developer of Dota, I made it a few years back when I was bored and have brought to life games similar to it in a few other worlds and now it's your world's turn" Icefrog proudly said.

Luke immediately trembled after hearing what the frog said and he couldn't help but ask in a shaky voice, "Wh-wha-what?!? What do you mean you brought to life games similar to it in other worlds?! There's truly alien life out there?!?"

"Hmph. Truly a self-centered species, of course there's life in other worlds besides yours, in fact, some of them are much more advanced than yours!" Icefrog berated.

"And then those worlds have been fighting for years because of the game you brought to life in their worlds? So that definitely means that they've received power from you that's way beyound ours right?!?" He asked in fear.

"Of course! That's why I even bothered bringing the game to your world since at some point in the near future, your planet would also be in conflict with those worlds. Better prepare your world before they come here and surprise you all. Aren't I a thoughtful God? Kekekekekeke!" Icefrog guffawed as he praised himself

'What?!' Luke shouted in his mind after what Icefrog just said. He then realized that Icefrog truly did help everyone on earth get stronger so he decided to treat the frog perhaps a bit better and said, "Ah.. Ye-yes Sir! You're very thoughtful sir! We're very lucky to be in your care! But sir, if you don't mind me asking, when do you suppose will they arrive here?" He carefully asked.

"Maybe in about 5-10 years? I dunno about them, that's just my rough estimate since there might be factors that would delay them" Icefrog replied.

"Oh. That'll give us some time to strengthen ourselves, not bad" Luke told himself.

Hearing Luke, Icefrog immediately chided with a laugh "Hah! Don't forget that those worlds have been strengthening themselves for many years already and while you earthlings are getting stronger, they're also not just lazying themselves but are getting stronger too! Hmph! If I wasn't such a merciful God and made the mana here much more dense than those in other worlds then your planet would definitely suffer terribly in the hands of those from other worlds!"

Most of the anger that Luke felt for Icefrog vanished at this point as he truly felt thankful for what Icefrog did in consideration for those from Earth, "Thank you oh majestic Icefrog! We are in your debt!" he praised him.

"Hmm. hmm. Not bad not bad. Kakakakakaka! Enough of your questions, I should give you your reward now" Icefrog said in a contented tone.

Hearing the word 'reward' immediately made Luke's eyes shine brightly as he truly felt that he deserved on after everything that happened today and he excitedly said, "Yes, sir! What would I be receiving?"

"Hmmm. Since i'm quite satisfied with you, I'll let you have three choices: first would be a random basic attribute item, second would be a random weapon of a hero in Dota, do note that the weapon won't give you any stats, and the last reward would be where you can spin a roulette where you'd either get a dud or be able to choose from a list of 5 randomly generated basic abilities. Now, what do you choose, kid?" solemnly answered Icefrog.

Luke was clearly shocked hearing the reward. All three rewards could greatly help him! A basic attribute item could increase his stats in Intelligence, Strength and Agility. These stats represented some things too, once he receives a basic attribute item, his HP, HP regeneration, Mana, Mana regeneration, Movement Speed, Attack Speed, Physical Defense and Magical Defense would all increase depending on what stat would increase! This choice is clearly the safest one as although he might receive an item that would only give a little stats but at least it's already assured that his stats would grow!

A weapon, although it won't give him any stat increase, would still be of great help to him especially right now that he only had a small claw hammer as a weapon! If he had a better weapon, he could kill creeps faster! His claw hammer couldn't possibly be compared to a weapon like a sword! But what he was worried about is what if the weapon he'll receive would be something like Meepo's shovel! That would be horrible for him.

As for the last option, he wasn't sure whether it would be a great idea since it greatly depended on his luck. It would be amazing if he managed to obtain an ability that would work well with Counter Helix like Axe's Berserker's Call that would greatly decrease the physical damage he'd receive from his enemies after taunting them. But If he does spin the roulette and manage to land on the chance to pick another ability, what if the abilities he obtains wouldn't be of much help for him? He knew that his HP is so low so he didn't have much hope for the amount of mana he had either so if all 5 abilities he'll be choosing from would require huge amounts of mana, wouldn't he be in a loss? And since the roulette depended on his luck, he felt that this is definitely something that he shouldn't choose since he has been having shitty luck so far today!

Luke was at a loss in what reward he'd choose. Should he perhaps play it safe and choose the first option? or perhaps get a weapon since even if the weapon he'd be getting is shitty, it at least should be better than his little hammer right? Or should he take a gamble and push his luck to its limits to grab the chance in getting a new ability?

Closing his eyes in contemplation, he felt that he should be decisive in what he truly wanted. And what did he truly want right now? An ability other than counter helix! He was seriously hoping of getting an ability that didn't need him getting hurt. He didn't mind if it wouldn't work well with Counter Helix as long as he had one life-saving ability he would be truly happy!

Opening his eyes, he was resolutely said, "I'll choose the 3rd reward!""

The frog was taken aback by the look on his face and said "Quite brave, aren't ya? I like that. If you would have chosen the first or second option, there would have been a high probability of you getting a low-quality reward. At least with the 3rd option you'll have a higher chance of getting a good ability. Kakakaka. Anyhow, go on and spin the roulette" then with a snap of his fingers, a roulette appeared in front of Luke and on the roulette were 20 slots, and alternating on them were either a dud or an ability.

Praying to all Gods he could think of to make up for all the shitty luck he had today, he then mustered his courage and spun the roulette.

The roulette was spinning quite silently as it spun quite fast. He was still praying in his mind that if he'll get an ability, he'll be praying much more frequently and be a better person that would treat people well. But of course, he was only saying it for the sake of getting better luck.

As the roulette gradually slowed down, cold sweat gathered on his back as he closed his eyes in fear of getting a dud while in his mind, he kept on saying "Please, please, please, please, please....".

"Well i'll be damned, you got lucky kid. You actually managed to land on an ability slot." Icefrog said in surprise.

Opening his eyes to confirm what Icefrog just said, he immediately saw that the marker on the roulette clearly landed on an ability slot and so he fist pumped the air in joy and shouted "FUCK YEAH! I WON'T BE STUCK WITH JUST COUNTER HELIX NOW! I DON'T NEED TO GET ATTACKED NOW JUST SO MY ABILITY WOULD ACTIVATE! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Luke didn't notice that after his celebration, Icefrog actually had a sly look on his face which he quickly replaced with his bored look as if he was worried that Luke would notice.

"Now, now. I still have to randomly generate 5 basic abilities for you to choose from" Icefrog calmly said so and with another snap of his fingers, what looked like a slot machine appeared in front of Luke and he patiently explained "Well the machine would generate the abilities so just pull its lever at the side".

Taking a deep breath and doing his second round of praying to the Gods for better luck, he then grabbed the lever and pulled it down.

The reels on the machine were quickly spinning as Luke saw the symbols of Dota 2 abilities on them. It didn't take long for the first reel to slow down and when it stopped, he saw that the first ability is 'Aftershock'.

"Dammit! This ability is useless for me since I need to have an active ability for it to work, and Counter Helix is a passive ability. Hopefully the other 4 abilities would be better" he complained at first but quickly thought positively.

Soon followed the second reel, and after it stopped, he saw that the second ability is 'Arcane Aura'.

"Oh come on?! Another passive ability? And it had to be Arcane Aura of all things, why would I need my mana regeneration to increase when I don't even have any use for my mana?!" he complained but he still had hope since there were 3 more abilities so he didn't complain furtherl.

After the third reel stopped, he then saw that the third ability is 'Tether'.

Luke didn't know whether he should laugh or cry. Tether is a great ability for a support as long as you have an item that can quickly regenerate your HP or mana since whoever you chose the Tether to attach to would receive 1.5x the amount of HP and mana you would regenerate. But right now, he only had 4 tangos! What use is the 1.5x regeneration if he uses up his 4 tangos?!

Praying to God that at least one of the last two abilities would be a good one, he waited for the 4th reel to stop. And after it did so, he really wanted to cry as the 4th ability is 'Mana Drain'.

"FOR FUCK'S SAKE, WHY MANA DRAIN?!? I have no use for mana so i really don't need this ability!" He complained tearfully while glaring at the machine.

He failed to notice how, above him, Icefrog was actually holding his laughter! If he saw it, he would definitely have suspected that the generated abilities weren't actually random but rather were chosen by Icefrog!

While Luke was still lamenting his shit luck, he then realized that the fifth reel has actually stopped and as soon as he saw what ability it was he immediately felt like fainting. The fifth ability is 'Reactive Armor'.

Among the 5 abilities, Reactive Armor was actually the only one that would be useful for him. But the requirements for Reactive Armor are actually closely the same as Counter Helix, he needed to get hit! That's why Luke truly felt like fainting at that moment. Reactive Armor is actually quite a good ability in coordination with Counter Helix, how it works is that for every time Luke gets hit, his physical defense and HP regeneration would increase. It would have been a great ability in the game, but here in the real world, he didn't want it! There are other abilities that could heal him up without the need to get hit for it to activate, so why would he deliberately choose it if there were better choices?

Disregarding Luke's grieving, Icefrog asked him still with a bored look on his face, "So which ability do you choose?"

Luke then depressingly answered in a low voice "... Reactive Armor"

"Brilliant! Congratulations in your ability! You'll receive it once you wake up! Off you go then, sleepy head!" Icefrog then rushingly snapped his fingers and Luke's figure faded and as soon as he disappeared, Icefrog started rolling in the clouds as he boisterously laughed at what he just did.

He was always quite mischievous, and seeing that Luke hated being subjected to pain, he tweaked the machine he just summoned and made sure that that first 4 abilities that comes out would be something Luke would have no use for and the last ability was something he specificially chose for Luke. He didn't want Luke to lose out since it's still his reward after all so he chose Reactive Armor since it can both suffice the requirement of subjecting Luke to some pain and also protecting Luke from danger.

"Kakakakakakakakakaka! I should watch him from time to time to see how he's forced to always look for enemies to attack him. Kakakakaka!" he cackled while imagining the look on Luke's face.

If Luke would have known all these, he would definitely vomit blood and curse his loud mouth for mentioning how he wanted an ability that didn't need for him to get attacked. But little did he know, these two abilities of his are actually what would catapult him to fame in the days to come.