The team members examined the equipment drop with smiles on their faces, while Ethan didn't look the least bit interested.
Instead, he was focused on pondering the possibilities of his Black Halo trait.
"The hardest thing in an awakener's life is acquiring skills and equipment because everything depends on chances."
"The only known way to increase those chances is by repeatedly attempting to obtain them until luck finally yields the desired reward."
"At the end of the day, everything depends on chances... luck."
"Chances" simply refers to the probability or likelihood of something happening.
In the life of Awakeners, it means the likelihood of obtaining skills or other rewards during dungeon raids or similar tasks.
Awakeners usually increase these chances by repeatedly performing dungeon raids.
Every time they successfully complete one, their chances improve slightly.
However, as long as there is even a small chance for something to happen, it can happen if one is lucky enough.
But luck is not definite, and it is certainly not something one should depend on.
Yet if Ethan's Black Halo truly maximized his luck, then any slight probability, any "chance" as Awakeners call it, would no longer remain a probability for him.
It would become a certainty.
"My trait really does increase my luck to the maximum. There are no chances of getting rewards in a dungeon. They are a certainty. What takes other Awakeners dozens or even hundreds of dungeon raids to obtain, I can obtain by clearing it once... This is too absurd."
Ethan's breathing grew heavier as if he had subconsciously stopped breathing for a few seconds while thinking about the capabilities of his trait.
After a couple of minutes, everyone, including Ethan, exited the dungeon.
"Thanks to you, we now have the entire Skeletal Warden Set. We can use it to hunt for skills," Jonathan said to Ethan.
"Well, I didn't really do anything other than help you guys clear the dungeon," Ethan replied.
He was not about to admit that he was the reason they got the entire equipment set in a single raid.
"Yeah, you say that... but I can't help having this thought at the back of my head that if you weren't here, not even a single piece of that equipment would have dropped," Jonathan said quietly, as if he did not want the others to hear.
"Everybody has their secrets. I suppose you do too."
"Hmm I guess... What are you guys going to do now?" Ethan asked.
"Hunt for skills, what else? The sooner we fill our skill slots, the sooner we can start leveling up. There are other dungeons in the Dungeon Hall with high chances of [Wheel of Skills] cards dropping. We might not get profession-specific skills, but we will be happy with whatever we find," Jonathan continued.
"Want to exchange contact information?"
"Sure," Ethan agreed, and they exchanged information.
"See you soon. We will follow you on QuickGram," the raid team said as they waved and left.
"QuickGram? What is that?" Ethan muttered, confused.
He did not linger on it and found a nearby place to sit and rest while he pondered a few things.
"With my trait, I just have to clear the [Dwelling of the Snake Lord] dungeon once in Hell difficulty and I will get the profession-specific skill. The same goes for Skill Enhancement Cards. It will not even take a full week."
Ethan clicked his tongue in wonder.
"What takes others many weeks or months to accomplish, I can do in a few days. This way, I am not wasting time raiding the same dungeon again and again, and I am also growing without pause."
"Should I tell Sir Shawn about my trait?"
Ethan considered telling Sir Shawn, but after a few minutes of thought, he decided against it.
"No. Let's just see how everything goes for now," Ethan sighed as he stood up.
"You seem to be doing well for yourself," he heard a voice say.
When he looked up, he saw a young woman with striking blue eyes and short brown hair that reached her shoulders, smiling slightly.
"I got lucky," Ethan replied, and he was not lying.
This woman was Sasha Sinclair, a Fire Sage.
She was one of the Sinclair twins.
Her sister's name was Tasha Sinclair, and her profession was Ice Sage, just like Ethan.
They were also Sir Shawn's students.
"Whoa, you reached level 10 already?" Sasha asked, surprised. "My sister and I only managed to reach level 8."
That was understandable to Ethan.
Unlike him, who could use his summons to replenish his energy and then summon hundreds more to kill monsters rapidly, they did not possess such abilities.
"I guess it's understandable that I'm leveling up faster than my peers. Not only is my unique profession a much more powerful Advanced-grade profession, but its specialty also allows me to summon without limits… I'm kind of powerful, huh," Ethan thought.
"Where is your sister?" he asked.
"She went to find a suitable dungeon for us to raid," Sasha replied. "We want to reach level 10 as soon as possible, and then we will start hunting for skills."
"So all of us are here for the same thing," Ethan chuckled. "Sir Shawn asked me to raid the [Dwelling of the Snake Lord] Dungeon to obtain a profession-specific skill."
"I heard that is the toughest dungeon here, and to obtain that skill card, you have to raid it solo in Hell difficulty, right?" Sasha asked, surprised. "He gave the same task to the Gladiator, and he already started his raid."
"That's fast."
"Yeah, right? As soon as he reached level 10, he immediately entered the dungeon," Sasha nodded.
"After him, you are the second one among Sir Shawn's students to reach level 10 so quickly. I guess you and he are the strongest among us."
"I am not that great," Ethan replied, just as Tasha walked toward them.
The twins looked identical, the only difference being their hair length.
Sasha had a short, shoulder-length puff cut, while Tasha had long, straight hair.
And just like her profession, Ice Sage, her personality was slightly colder.
"Oh, It's you. You reached level 10, huh?" Tasha said with a raised eyebrow.
"I found a good dungeon for us to raid," Tasha said to her sister, ignoring Ethan.
"We will get going then… Happy dungeon raiding, Ethan." Sasha looked at Ethan and waved her hand.
"You too," Ethan smiled, then suddenly remembered something and stopped them.
"Before you go, do you know what QuickGram is?" Ethan asked.
"You are joking, right? You seriously do not know what QuickGram is?" Tasha asked with a snort, as if she did not believe him.
"I really do not know. Can you show me?" Ethan asked.
The twins exchanged glances. "Maybe he really does not know."
"QuickGram is a social media platform. Here, let me show you," Sasha said as she grabbed Ethan's phone.
She downloaded the app for him, showed him how to create an account, how to post, and how to navigate everything.
"Everyone uses QuickGram. It is basically the reason most people even have phones. People post pictures of their lifestyle, the dungeons they are hunting, everything. Many Awakeners also use it to gather information," Sasha continued.
"You can follow people and add them to your Friends List."
"What is the difference between following and the Friends List?" Ethan asked.
"If you follow me, you can see all my posts, like them, comment, and share them, but that is it. You cannot text or call me. If I add you to my Friends List, you can. The Friends List just means you are part of someone's inner circle," Sasha explained.
"Here. Type my name. Once you see my profile, click Follow and Request Friendship."
"Okay," Ethan said as he followed her instructions.
When she accepted, he received a notification.
"I am your first friend," Sasha smiled.
"Thanks," Ethan replied.
"Just out of curiosity, were you living in a shelter or something? You don't even know how to use a phone?" Tasha asked.
She sounded genuinely curious, not condescending.
"Well, I guess something like that. I was an orphan, and the man who adopted me was… let's just say he is very strict. I wasn't allowed to interact with the outside world or have things like phones or computers. Everything I knew came from books and recorded videos explaining professions and skills. This is the first time I'm even using a phone," Ethan explained.
He was neither sad nor ungrateful. In fact, he was grateful for having a place to grow up and food to eat.
He was merely explaining how he grew up, nothing more.
"You did not have any friends to teach you about outside life?" Tasha asked, her expression softening.
"I was sheltered, remember? I didn't have any friends. The only people I ever interacted with were the ones who worked for the old man who raised me," Ethan answered.
...
[A/N: If you enjoyed the chapter, please consider adding it to your library and supporting it with some Power Stones. Arigato!]