TheShingPen
Luck Over Strength
Silver Tier
As Zarin walked through the busy streets of Ridgeview, a familiar notification appeared before him.
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Quest Completed: Escort Merchant’s Caravan to Ridgeview City
Reward: 30 EXP
Bonus: Defeated Wild Beasts (+15 EXP)
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Zarin raised an eyebrow at the bonus EXP for defeating the beasts. While he was glad to see the boost, part of him felt it was unfair. ‘Why does all the EXP get funneled into the quest rewards? I fought those boars myself! Shouldn’t I have earned more individual experience from that battle?’
He knew from experience that the monsters they’d encountered—those boar-like creatures—weren’t very high level. Probably around level 1 to 3 at best. Defeating them hadn’t been too challenging, but the combined encounters and the overall success of the quest had pushed him over the edge to level up. Plus, he had completed many similar quests before this, some of which had granted extra EXP rewards, which helped. Still, this was far from the grand experience of battling a true monster.
‘When I beat the Faceless level 10 monster, it gave me 400 EXP.’ The beasts from this quest hadn’t come close to that, but at least they were enough to help him reach the next level. He knew that not all quests rewarded EXP, especially those that didn’t involve physical challenges.
That was why he hadn’t gained any EXP from his first guild quest. Back then, he hadn’t fought anyone or passed any real obstacle—no battles, no effort, just a bit of luck and clever thinking. The system had been transparent: EXP only came when there was some hurdle to overcome, like fighting, moving heavy objects, or exerting himself meaningfully.
Despite his grumbling, Zarin’s mood lightened when another notification flashed before him.
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Class Leveled Up
Gambler of Fate reached Level 5
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With that, a second notification followed:
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Skill Evolution
Fate Dice-d6 (Lvl 3) has evolved to Fate’s Dice-d8 (Lvl 1)
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Zarin grinned, and without missing a beat, he opened his evolved Skill’s description window to check out the details.
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Fate Dice-d6
Description: Allows the user to roll a magical eight-sided die. Each result triggers a unique effect based on the number rolled. The roll’s outcome is determined by chance, with higher Luck improving overall results.
Effects Per Roll:
1: Summon a random, non-combat animal.
2: Summon a functional object related to the current situation.
3: Summon a basic elemental attack.
4: Create a low-tier protective field for 10 seconds.
5: Temporarily boost one of your stats by 25% for 1 minute.
6: Summon a random low-tier magical item for 1 hour.
7: Summon a lot-tier ally to fight for 1 minute.
8: Unleash a devastating attack based on your highest stat (once per day limit).
Cooldown: 2 minutes (24 hours if 8 is rolled)
Note: Can be used during Combat only
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At first, Zarin’s grin widened. The effects were far more versatile than his old Skill—he no longer had to worry about summoning a wild beast that could attack him or some random object that had no use in battle. Shields, elemental attacks, stat boosts, and allies gave him a broader range of options. But as he read further, his grin began to fade.
“Two minutes?” he muttered, scowling at the system. “I can only use my Skill once every two minutes, and that’s if I don’t roll the 8? This is my only offensive Skill!” His frustration grew. “How am I supposed to fight effectively if I keep getting locked out of my own abilities?”
Zarin continued grumbling as he moved through the town. He felt like the system was deliberately holding him back. ‘Other adventurers by now had an entire set of skills they could use during combat. Meanwhile, I’m stuck waiting two minutes between rolls, and if I get ‘lucky’ enough to roll an 8, I’m sidelined for a whole day!’
Still irritated, Zarin checked his main stats to see what had improved now that he had leveled up. He learned that each level up usually came with stat increases based on the class. He hadn’t paid close attention to his growth before level 4, as he didn’t know about the Status Window then. He opened his status window, curious to see the new level’s surprises.
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Status Window
Name: Zarin
Class: Gambler of Fate (Lvl. 5)
HP: 110/110
MP: 60/60
SP: 55/55
Stats
Strength: 12
Agility: 11
Mind: 12
Endurance: 11
Luck: 50
Skills
Combat Insight (Lvl. 5)
Pain Resistance (Lvl. 5)
Fate Dice-d8 (Lvl. 1)
Innate Traits
Fortune’s Favor
Universal Comprehension
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Zarin blinked, staring at the numbers. “Only my Luck increased?” he muttered, rubbing his eyes to ensure he wasn’t seeing things. His Luck had jumped by 4, bringing it to a staggering 50. He had increased his Strength, Endurance, and Mind through training those past months, so they didn’t increase because of the level-up.
For most adventurers, an increase in Luck would be considered a blessing. Luck was a valuable stat, and gaining 4 points to it by a single level-up was incredibly rare. But for Zarin, whose Luck was already absurdly high compared to others, it wasn’t exactly what he’d been hoping for.
‘Great,’ he thought sarcastically. ‘I’m getting luckier, but all my other stats are just… stuck. My Strength, Agility—everything else is barely moving!’
Most adventurers at level 5 had a more balanced stat distribution, but not Zarin. His class, Gambler of Fate, seemed to funnel all the gains into Luck. For someone else, this might have been a dream come true, but for Zarin, it felt like overkill. His Luck was already astronomically high; more of it didn’t make much of a difference to him.
‘I’m not complaining about Luck being useful,’ Zarin thought, ‘but how about throwing me a few points in Strength? Agility? Anything I can use in combat!’
With his mood fluctuating between excitement for his new Skill and irritation over his class’ stat allocation, Zarin finally reached the Lionhead Guild branch.
Zarin approached the front desk, where a receptionist greeted him with a polite smile. “Welcome to the Lionhead Guild. How can I assist you today?”
“I’m here to report a completed escort quest,” Zarin said, feeling a small surge of pride. “Took a merchant’s caravan from Brellin to Ridgeview. We ran into trouble with wild beasts, but I handled it.”
The receptionist nodded but then gestured to his bronze badge. “Please present your badge for identification.”
Zarin blinked. ‘Identification? That’s new.’ He’d never had to use the badge this way before. In Brellin, they knew him well enough not to bother, but here, they didn’t know him from any other adventurer. He handed the badge over, watching the receptionist hold it to a small crystal device on the desk. After a moment, the crystal glowed faintly, and a display lit up in front of him.
The receptionist brought the parchment of the quest passing infront the display doing like what Zarin could only describe as a scanning move and then handed back the badge. “Everything seems in order. I’ll make sure this gets added to your Guild record. Congratulations on completing the quest.”
“Thanks,“ Zarin replied, feeling the weight of his success. He then thought of Torvin. “Oh, and by the way, I met a half-giant. He helped with the beasts. No trouble from him, though.”
The receptionist raised an eyebrow. “A half-giant? Interesting. I’ll include that in the report.”
With the formalities finished, Zarin collected his badge and stepped away from the desk. His mind still buzzed with thoughts of his newly evolved Fate’s Dice skill. He was eager to test it out, especially that mysterious 8—an ability tied to his highest stat, Luck. With a Luck stat as high as his, the possibilities were endless.
Zarin’s fingers itched for the next challenge as he made his way to the quest board. ‘Maybe there’s something here that’ll give me the real test I’ve been looking for,’ he thought, scanning the available options.