Luck - (1)

[Chapter 5]

「Berserker Ring」

■ Artifact Grade: Bronze

■ Artifact Description: A ring obtainable only from an Orc Berserker that stirs up your fighting spirit.

■ Strength +10

■ Special Effect - Weight Reduction

"Weight reduction? Even with a special effect, he gave it up to me? That greedy guy wouldn't do that for no reason."

Sanghyun tilted his head in confusion.

The special effect alone should have made it valuable—so why did he give it up so easily?

The mystery unraveled as soon as he read the description of the weight reduction effect.

■ Special Effect - Weight Reduction

■ Effect Description - Consumes 1 mana per second, reducing the weight of all equipped artifacts to 1g.

"Ah, it was because of the mana cost."

It made sense.

Sanghyun's current mana stat was 10.

Even if he used the weight reduction effect, it would only last 10 seconds. It would just end up being a mana-consuming deadweight.

Yoon Daekyung probably realized he couldn't handle the mana drain at his level, so he tossed it to Sanghyun like he was doing him a favor.

"I'm different."

Sanghyun grinned.

For someone like Sanghyun, who saw and accepted artifacts from a completely different perspective, this was an unexpected windfall.

In his previous life, Sanghyun had only awakened his ability to consume artifacts when he was fifty.

Since his start had been so delayed, he threw himself into research even more fiercely, conducting countless experiments and amassing a wealth of knowledge.

What fascinated Sanghyun most during that time was the change that occurred when he consumed artifacts and inherited their special effects.

"Once I consume it, the overwhelming cost tied to that effect disappears. It either becomes far more manageable or vanishes entirely."

Simply put, the inefficient mana drain of 1 per second for the weight reduction would be eliminated.

However, it was essential to be cautious since the inherited effect needed to be combined with either a skill or another artifact.

There was also a method to detach a combined effect at a slight penalty and reassign it later.

In such cases, the 1g weight reduction might increase to 10g—a sort of penalty for breaking the bond.

"Consuming it is the only way to benefit."

Without hesitation, Sanghyun began the synchronization.

To compensate for his still-slow growth in strength and stamina, he planned to apply the weight reduction to his greatsword.

Of course, while the greatsword would feel light as a feather to Sanghyun, it would still deliver heavy, crushing blows to his opponents. There was nothing else to worry about.

"Sigh…"

After the synchronization finished, Sanghyun faced the manifestation of the Berserker Ring in the form of food—and let out a deep sigh.

"Of all things… it had to turn into cucumber cold soup?"

Sanghyun detested cucumbers in any form, from cucumber-scented soap to any combination of flavors.

He even removed cucumber pickles from his burgers—it was the worst possible outcome for him.

"A final boss has arrived."

Looking at the massive bowl of cucumber cold soup—large enough to fit an entire face—he sighed heavily.

Still, he had to eat it.

Maybe it was superstition, but oddly enough, whenever he ate the artifact manifestation well, there was a higher chance of inheriting hidden stats or skills.

"Haa... Let's eat. I have to eat it…"

With a long sigh, Sanghyun began eating. And for a while, the sound of him gagging echoed without pause.

* * *

Thirty minutes later.

Sanghyun had climbed to about midway up the small mountain near his cramped one-room apartment.

Tap.

He set down the drink he had brought, glancing around.

At some point, this place had turned into a training ground, where some players had installed wooden dummies for combat practice—someone had made a generous investment.

Thankfully, anyone with a player license could train here for free.

But perhaps because of the overcast afternoon sky threatening rain, the training ground was empty.

It was the perfect condition for training.

"Damn cucumber. Ugh."

Suppressing his nausea, Sanghyun gripped his greatsword tightly.

With the weight reduction applied, the greatsword felt as light as paper—like holding a feather.

Normally, a player would have to continuously consume 1 mana per second to maintain this weight reduction.

But Sanghyun didn't need to spend any mana. This was the unique advantage of his ability to consume artifacts.

"Let's develop a two-handed sword training skill before tackling the next dungeon."

Sanghyun stared at the wooden dummy ahead of him, determination burning in his eyes.

Two-handed sword training skill.

With this, he would be able to execute more controlled and swift attacks while wielding a greatsword.

During his previous battle in the Orc Dungeon, Sanghyun hadn't been satisfied with his movements.

Even though the other players had showered him with applause, it was the obvious reaction—one that didn't excite him in the slightest.

However, if a high-level player had been watching, they would have easily pointed out the flaws in his crude swordsmanship.

Two-handed sword training was the perfect way to address his dissatisfaction.

"Let's take a proper look."

For the first time since his regression, Sanghyun fully examined his status window to assess his overall condition.

■ Level: 7

■ Titles: 3

■ Constellation: None

■ Stat Overview

[Strength 13 / Stamina 12 / Agility 12 / Mana 10 / Luck 16 / Evasion 15 / Defense 10]

[Unallocated Points: 0]

When Sanghyun first awakened as a player, all his base stats had started at 10.

Through consuming artifacts, his Strength increased by 3, Stamina by 2, and Agility by 2. Additionally, his titles had boosted his Evasion stat by 5.

Luck was the only stat to which he had directly allocated bonus points.

He was already taking several steps ahead of other players.

While reviewing his status window, Sanghyun's thoughts lingered on the Constellation section—still marked as none.

Since he had decided to focus on developing hidden stats and skills from artifacts, Luck was an absolute necessity.

That meant not just titles, but also a Constellation that could significantly enhance his Luck stat. It was essential.

In his previous life, he had only realized the importance of Luck after 25 years—by then, his time and points had been invested too late.

But things are different now.

From the very beginning, he was prepared to push his Luck stat to its absolute limit.

"I need to attract a Constellation's attention."

He knew exactly how to do it.

There were plenty of stories he had heard secondhand from other players in his past life—tales that always sounded like legends. 

A Constellation could not form contracts with two players simultaneously. It was strictly a one-player, one-constellation rule.

In other words, even if someone shared the method, other players couldn't steal a Constellation that had already bonded with someone else. That's why so many heroic tales spread around.

Of course, if someone returned from the future and took the lead, it would be a different story.

But who would ever imagine such an unrealistic scenario? Even Sanghyun himself had never once considered the possibility of going back in time—until he actually did.

"It looks like I'm going to suffer for a while again."

Sanghyun let out a bitter laugh.

Attracting a Luck Constellation required not just difficult conditions but borderline absurd ones—it made you wonder how anyone had figured it out.

Still, that Constellation was essential for smooth growth going forward. There was no way he was going to give up.

You had to strike while the iron was hot.

* * *

Two days later.

『Two-Handed Sword Training』

■ Skill Level: Stage 1 (0.0%)

■ Skill Description: Increases adaptability for all swords except daggers and one-handed longswords.

After dedicating every waking moment—except sleep—to training, Sanghyun finally developed the Two-Handed Sword Training skill.

If the skill creation condition didn't hit 100%, it wouldn't activate even if it was at 99%. It had been a grueling journey.

"Definitely not as crowded as Seoul."

Eventually, he arrived at the dungeon entrance.

Nearby was a signpost indicating that Jeonju in North Jeolla Province was about 5 kilometers away.

It had taken him a full three-hour drive from Jamsil to get to this solo-play dungeon.

While searching for dungeons that could grant a Luck-related Constellation or title, he had been assigned to this one by chance.

In Seoul, without the backing of a guild, applying for personal dungeon runs often involved months of delays.

He had been prepared for this, but the assigned dungeon was much farther than he had anticipated.

"Honestly, unless someone's planning a sneak attack, there isn't much danger here."

Sanghyun had come to the southern region, where the Player Union's supervision was relatively lax, so he was slightly on edge.

Of course, anyone trying to ambush him with mediocre skills wouldn't even leave behind bones.

'Those guys have been bugging me for a while now.'

Sanghyun glanced at a sedan parked at a cautious distance from him.

At first, he hadn't noticed, but at some point, they had started tailing him consistently, following the same route.

It felt like they had been shadowing him for quite some time, carefully maintaining a distance to avoid detection.

'I didn't think I did anything to attract attention. Wait—maybe it's someone from the dungeon I did with Yoon Daekyung who took offense.'

Thinking it over, that seemed plausible. In his past life, there had always been people like that.

Maybe it was Yoon Daekyung himself, or perhaps one of the other five players from that dungeon run had held a grudge.

Smiling in front of you and stabbing you in the back later wasn't exactly uncommon.

Maybe there was some trash out there who wanted to teach a cocky new player a harsh lesson. A hired hit seemed likely.

But Sanghyun wasn't worried.

If they had seemed like formidable opponents, he might have been cautious. But he was confident that wasn't the case.

He couldn't sense even a hint of killing intent.

Killing intent. The aura of death.

It was a gut instinct Sanghyun had honed over years of bloodshed in dungeons and battlefields during his past life.

Constant exposure to life-or-death situations had sharpened his intuition naturally.

The absence of killing intent meant that these people weren't a real threat to him.

Truly dangerous foes—those who inspired fear—radiated a menacing presence, even from this distance.

'Even if I hadn't noticed them, I wouldn't have been caught off guard. But now that I know, there's no way I'll let it slide.'

Sanghyun smiled subtly.

He was fully prepared.

He had stocked up on health potions, mana potions, and even vitality potions.

Vitality potions enhanced concentration and helped improve sword accuracy.

For Sanghyun, who favored short, decisive engagements, it was an essential supplementary potion.

'If we're going to fight anyway, it's better to do it somewhere free from outside interference—like a dungeon.'

That was his plan.

From the opponent's perspective, the dungeon would also be the perfect place to attack him from behind.

There were no CCTVs in dungeons—no recordings, no witnesses, no evidence.

'I'll lure them in and strike.'

Sanghyun retrieved his greatsword from the back seat. The invisible battle had already begun.

The only thing left was to see who would cast their line more cleanly.

* * *

15 minutes later.

Sitting on a large rock at the dungeon entrance, Sanghyun waved toward the four men who had followed him in.

"Nice to meet you all!"

The unexpected greeting made all four of their expressions twist in surprise.

They thought they had followed him unnoticed, but it seemed Sanghyun had known from the start.

"You've got pretty sharp senses, huh?"

"Not that it matters. You're dead meat anyway."

"Hey, kid. You do realize that if you die in a place like this, it'll be hard for anyone to even find your remains, right?"

Four men in total.

One of them carried a bow, while the others each held a decent sword.

At the Player Academy, swordsmanship and magic were the most recommended disciplines for training.

Seeing so many sword users wasn't unusual. Sanghyun himself had chosen the sword for that reason in his past life.

"I don't know who sent you, but damn, working so hard just to catch one guy? Four of you, really? Isn't that kind of pathetic?"

Sanghyun's voice rang out.

It was a provocation.

"That little shit's got no fear, huh?"

"Yeah, and judging by that junk car outside, the guy's a total loser. Acting all tough while driving that piece of crap?"

"Figures—people who use greatswords always think they're some kind of hero from a game or novel."

"Just a wannabe trying too hard."

Despite Sanghyun's taunt, the four thugs looked at him with disdain.

After all, the wreck he had driven was something no self-respecting player would be caught dead in.

Honestly, it was a miracle the car hadn't caught fire already.

'Man, I really am something else… I'm standing here, of all times, wondering which of their artifacts would taste the best.'

Sanghyun couldn't help but glance at their artifacts instead of their faces.

It was definitely a dangerous situation.

Yet, somehow, it felt like he had walked into an all-you-can-eat buffet, unsure of where to start.

Gulp.

Saliva pooled in his mouth before he even realized it.

The feast was about to begin.