Luck - (3)

[Chapter 7]

"Hoo. Ha. Hoo."

Sanghyun frowned at the cool sensation that lingered in his mouth with every breath after finishing his meal.

Even though he hadn't brushed his teeth, it felt as if he had been brushing all day long, and Sanghyun didn't like that feeling.

Respecting preferences was one thing, but it was clear he had no intention of respecting this particular one. Still, the meal had gone well.

Sanghyun immediately checked the recovery effect that had been naturally absorbed while consuming the Artifact.

Unlike the lightening effect, it didn't need to be applied elsewhere and had already been fully converted into a skill.

『Recovery』

■ Skill Level: Stage 1 (0.0%)

■ Skill Description: Instantly removes all status abnormalities affecting yourself.

A cooldown of 60 seconds is required before reuse.

"As expected, it was redesigned to be more personalized upon absorption."

The original Artifact's conditions that consumed mana had disappeared. Instead, it now had a cooldown period. It could be used without burden but was limited by time.

"That's enough."

Sanghyun was satisfied.

Clicking on the skill description again to check the details, he confirmed that the Recovery skill was designed for instant activation.

In other words, even if he were frozen, stunned, or paralyzed, activating Recovery would still be possible.

This meant he could create unexpected variables.

From an opponent's perspective, even if they thought they gained the upper hand by inflicting a status abnormality, he could immediately retaliate.

"How many skills do I have now? And titles too."

Compared to his past life, the feeling was overwhelming.

Back then, his first skill—Draw Sword—had only appeared a month after becoming a Player.

It was tough to apply the skill in combat, but he had struggled hard just to make use of it.

Creating skills had been difficult in itself, making each day a struggle. As a result, he had spent his first year after awakening as a mere porter.

But now, he was exploring dungeons alone and engaging in combat—it felt like a dream.

Clench.

Strength surged through his tightly clenched fist.

After an unexpected regression.

As Sanghyun adapted to the new reality over nearly three days, he reached one clear conclusion.

Never let go of this second chance. And in this life, become the best.

He had returned with too many memories to dismiss this as mere luck.

With such favorable conditions, he didn't want to live and die as the same ordinary Player he had been before.

There was no longer any need to envy those who stood above him.

Now, he had a high chance of reaching that level himself—as long as he didn't become arrogant and make mistakes.

"Should I devour the rest of the Artifacts too?"

Sanghyun examined the Artifacts spread out before him.

They were weapons retrieved from the ones he had killed.

The bow was useless to him, so it was an obvious choice to consume, and the other swords were no exception.

They weren't particularly light or sharp, just overly flashy, which didn't appeal to him.

The devouring began immediately.

Before summoning a Constellation and gaining a title related to luck, this was a meticulous stat upgrade process.

[The absorption of Soid's Bow of Accuracy has been completed.]

[You have permanently gained 8 Agility stat points.]

[You have additionally gained 8 Agility stat points as a hidden stat.]

[The fully absorbed Soid's Bow of Accuracy has turned to ash and disappeared forever.]

[...(Omitted)]

"Maybe because that guy used it for so long, I'm surprised the absorption rate hit 40%, and I even got hidden stats on top of that? Did my luck change after regression? In my past life, I couldn't catch a break with luck."

Uncontrollable joy twitched the corners of his lips. Just by consuming the archer's bow, his Agility stat had increased by 16 points.

In terms of levels, that was equivalent to gaining 16 levels' worth of stats.

More importantly, considering that sword-type Players usually didn't invest much into Agility, this already set him apart from others of the same class.

It wasn't that a swordsman didn't need Agility—stats were always better the higher they were.

And it was true that a nimble, fast swordsman was better than one who was overly heavy and sluggish.

A little while later.

After devouring a total of eight weapon and accessory Artifacts, Sanghyun checked the stats that had increased from this feast.

[Stat Increase Status]

[Time Frame: Last 1 Hour]

[Strength +24 / Vitality +08 / Agility +16 / Mana +10 / Luck +00 / Evasion +05 / Defense +10]

"Crazy."

There hadn't been much excitement when consuming them one by one, but seeing the total afterward left his mouth agape.

Not only had he benefited across all stats except for Luck, but the overall increase was significant.

The reason was clear—the ambushed group of four had possessed their Artifacts for a long time, resulting in high absorption rates.

If converted to levels, there was no doubt. Just by looking at the stats gained, he had already reached the level of a Player in their 50s.

He was sure he had surpassed Yoon Daekyung, the leader of the team he had previously conquered the dungeon with.

"I left this incredible ability dormant for 25 years in my past life… Unbelievable."

What had taken years to achieve back then was now happening within mere days.

It felt so good. So overwhelmingly joyful.

The years wasted in idleness during his previous life now felt truly regrettable. It was even a little pitiful.

"Things will be very different from now on."

Sanghyun was certain.

With a head full of plans and memories of the future, success would vastly outnumber any failures.

* * *

Some time later.

"Hoo."

Letting out a deep sigh, Sanghyun placed a thick blindfold he had prepared in advance over his eyes.

It fit perfectly, blocking out all light without a single gap.

"Getting that luck stat… it's really tough."

Muttering in frustration, Sanghyun gripped his greatsword tightly.

There were various titles related to luck.

The recipe for the title Sanghyun had chosen required him to hunt monsters relying solely on his senses, without seeing his target.

By eliminating 500 monsters of similar size—excluding tiny or small ones—while visually impaired, he would unlock the title Lucky Day.

That's why he had come to the dungeon in Jeonju, where goblins, the easiest targets, were plentiful.

Goblins themselves weren't a challenge. However, fighting with vision blocked was a significant handicap.

'Though for me, it doesn't really matter.'

In his past life, Sanghyun had trained under extreme conditions, adding various burdens like sandbags to his body.

Visual impairment, one-handed combat, sensory numbness, visual distortion—he had intentionally created negative conditions for himself.

The training was based on the idea that battlefields wouldn't always offer the best environment.

In certain special dungeons or gates temporarily connected to other dimensions, such harsh conditions occurred frequently.

So Sanghyun had always trained to rely on senses beyond sight, and today was simply an extension of that.

"For goblins, just the flow of the wind and the sound they make is more than enough."

Confidently gripping his greatsword, Sanghyun began walking forward.

Kihehe! Keke!

At that moment, goblins hiding throughout the dungeon appeared, clutching their weapons cautiously.

Their expressions seemed to ask if a lunatic had shown up—after all, with his eyes so thoroughly covered, there was no way he could see anything.

Piiing!

Just then, a goblin archer fired an arrow with all its might, sending it arcing toward Sanghyun.

Whoosh. Whoooosh. Whoooooosh!

As the arrow neared, the sound of it cutting through the wind grew progressively louder. Sanghyun recognized each shift with precision.

Swish!

Thud.

Sanghyun's greatsword sliced cleanly through the air, cutting the arrow in half with a sharp, decisive motion.

"Thanks for the greeting!"

A clear smile spread across Sanghyun's lips beneath the blindfold. The battle had begun.

It didn't take long for a fountain of blood to appear.

While the startled goblins flinched at his sudden assault, Sanghyun closed the distance in an instant and decapitated one of them.

Swaaaash! Splurt!

Kiiiiii! Uwaaaah!

The goblins that had boldly charged were now panicking, fleeing in terror as a massacre unfolded before them.

Even though he couldn't see a thing, Sanghyun cut them down as if he could see everything—an executioner slaughtering his prey.

He could pinpoint the goblins' locations with just the sound of their footsteps and the flow of air around him.

The goblins' distinct stench and their murderous intent filled in the remaining gaps in information.

Thanks to the lightening effect, Sanghyun swung his greatsword more swiftly than ever before, and the goblins' heads flew freely through the air.

'What used to be a battlefield where I had to fight for my life is now just a playground. It's too easy. I could yawn.'

Sanghyun advanced without hesitation.

Since the dungeon extended in a straight line, there was no need to worry about his path.

Any goblin foolish enough to charge at him was sent straight to the afterlife, while those with a sense of self-preservation scattered in all directions.

Even the goblin archer who had initially fired so confidently had vanished—his attacks were useless against Sanghyun.

Kiheeek!

In the midst of the chaos, one brave goblin let out a battle cry and lunged toward Sanghyun.

"One. Two. Three!"

Whooom!

Swoosh!

But as Sanghyun finished his count and swung his greatsword, the goblin lost its head cleanly.

The strike even triggered an excessive critical hit, making the death all the more humiliating.

[Your level has increased.]

[You have been granted the D-rank title, [Lucky Day].]

His level had risen to 15, and he had received a title at the same time.

It was the title Sanghyun had been aiming for, aligned perfectly with his chosen strategy.

Killing 500 monsters of similar size without using sight was by no means an easy condition.

This title recipe would likely remain relevant for at least a decade to come.

[Lucky Day]

■ Title Rank: D-rank

■ Title Effect: Luck +20

■ Additional Condition: For every additional monster of the same type hunted after obtaining this title, 0.1 Luck stat will be added, up to a maximum of 10 extra points.

"Straight to the max!"

Sanghyun readjusted his grip on the sword.

There was no reason to delay—raising stats as quickly as possible was the right call.

One stat point could mean the difference between life and death, and misfortune could turn into unexpected luck if it was strong enough.

He had no intention of wasting even a single stat point or overlooking it lightly.

Many grains of sand build a mountain. There was a reason that proverb existed.

* * *

"Just with Lucky Day, I've raised my Luck stat by 30? You'd need at least a Platinum-grade Artifact to increase Luck by that much."

After completing an additional goblin massacre and pushing his Luck stat up by another ten points, Sanghyun smiled.

A Platinum-grade Artifact typically had a market value of at least one billion won.

The rarity drove the price up, but now, with just one title, he had effectively gained the same value.

It was yet another reminder of the power of titles.

The more titles he collected, the more overwhelming his advantage over Players of the same level would become as time went on—far beyond mere comparison.

This was exactly the vision Sanghyun had in mind: a Title Collector, or perhaps a Title Monopolizer.

Just then.

[The Goddess of Luck smiles upon you and extends her hand.]

[A Pilgrim Wandering the Vast Cosmos is awed by your prowess and requests a conversation.]

[A Corrupted Custodian of a Fallen Dimension wonders if you're interested in the art of bringing misfortune greater than luck.]

"Finally!"

The beings Sanghyun had come to this dungeon for—the true objective—had finally revealed themselves.

The Constellations.