Three days had passed since the end of our second rainy season. Although if I calculated it from the day we entered the labyrinth, today was day seventy-four.
We have collected about a billion mana stones from this island, and that along with the six hundred million we collected earlier...
They made a total of 1.6 billion mana stones.
Of course, that money had been raised by dozens of people, and after dividing it among everyone, my share would be much smaller. Fortunately, however, this problem was resolved with a simple discussion with the other members of our group.
Now there was only one thing left to do.
«Everyone can rest as much as they want! We won't do anything for the rest of the day».
After we had finished collecting the mana stones all over the Giant Island, our group returned to the cave. Naturally, it was the same cave that the Hektz Clan had stayed in when we first rescued them, and in which we found the tombstone.
Come to think of it, we were very lucky.
We had completely mapped Giant Island. There were quite a few more caves around, but this was the only one so deep that it went underground. It also had a special feature that meant that monsters did not approach the entrance for some reason. Honestly, it was the safest place we could camp.
And the Hektz Clan had managed to find him in the midst of all that Chaos.
Please let something like that stick to me too.
What I was about to do weighed heavily on my mind, as it depended almost entirely on luck. And the thing was, I wasn't so lucky. Or, well, really...
My luck is average.
It wasn't until recently that I started thinking like that. After all the misfortunes I went through as a child, there had been multiple times throughout my life when I was convinced I was cursed. But, on second thought, I wasn't particularly unlucky. Even after going through all that stuff, he was still alive.
«It looks like it's going to start soon.»
«Bjorn! I don't know what you're doing, but good luck!»
In fact, I was very lucky to have met such great people throughout my life.
Erwen, my night companion turned friend since my first adventure.
Ainar, my trusted fellow barbarian warrior.
The allies I made in the Bloody Citadel fighting that mutant, Raven and Hikurod.
Missha, Rotmiller and Dwalkie from the Loser Team.
In those early years when I really had nothing, meeting them went beyond something as simple as «luck».
Let's not get our hopes up.
I shook off my cowardly inclination to pass this responsibility on to my lucky teammates, like Ainar and Missha.
I am a lucky man.
I repeated it to my heart over and over again. What I needed right now was not doubts, but unwavering certainty.
I... was a lucky man.
That's when the change occurred.
«I...»
Finally something clicked in my mind. My jaw, which had been clenched by nerves, relaxed slightly and my hands stopped shaking. He had reached what could only be described as a moment of enlightenment. The question of the glass half full... It was not up to the people around me to decide whether the glass was happy or unhappy. The only person who could decide it was me and only me.
«...i'm lucky.»
«Hey?»
«What are you talking about? He hasn't done anything yet.»
Hasn't he done anything?
Anything in this world was possible if you put your mind to it. Just as the future recorded in the Disc Stone was destined to come true, the moment I decided was the moment my future was decided. It was a universal truth and an immutable fact.
«Heh heh...»
However, since there was no way these fools could understand all that even if I explained it to them, I just laughed and saved my saliva.
«There is a cool breeze today».
The spiritual energies of the universe embraced me like an old friend.
«The sun is warm».
Certainty and only certainty filled my heart.
«We are inside a cave. Why are you talking about the wind...?».
«Maybe he's trying to say he's cold?»
«But then he said the sun is warm...»
«Sir... Are you sick?»
I ignored the ignorant questions of the unenlightened mortals around me and picked up one of the mana stones on the ground. Then I slowly lifted her towards the necklace. There was no reason to rush.
Water is water, and the wind is the wind.
It was that obvious to me.
Shaaa!
My future was guaranteed.
[Great Alchemist Garphas' gift feels the power of creation in your offering.]
[You have made Stone Bread.]
Alright, let's do it.
***
No. 7777: Garphas Necklace.
The operation of this necklace was simple. Every time someone touched the necklace with a mana stone, it absorbed the stone and in turn randomly generated bread, water, metal, and other things like that.
So.
[You have made stone bread.]
Every time a mana stone entered, the item that appeared on the necklace gem changed, and you could take it out if you wanted. Since there was no point in taking out stone loaves, I didn't bother and continued turning the wheel.
But... why hadn't the object changed yet?
What was happening?
[You have made Stone Bread.]
[You have made Stone Bread.]
[You have made Stone Bread.]
[You have made Stone...]
Seriously, six Stone Breads in a row? Even if they were rank five and not even rank nine mana stones?
When using rank five mana stones, the chance of recovering a stone bread is only 4%. This means that the probability of that happening six times in a row is...
I choked.
The moment I did the numbers, my Zen Barbarian mode almost shattered, but I managed to educate myself with my disciplined mind. Anyway, the first slap rolls were about putting the odds in your favor.
«Bjorn! You feel well? Clear your throat!»
«...Move. I'm fine.
...Doubt was the mind killer, a deadly poison that ate away at your heart and only made life more difficult.
[You have made Stone Bread.]
[You have made Stone Bread.]
[You have made Stone Bread.]
That's why I put my feelings aside and continued mechanically inserting mana stones into the necklace.
Not just six times, but nine times in a row...?
No, that didn't mean anything.
The future was already decided.
[You have manufactured Steel Ingot.]
Yes, probability is just that, a probability.
What I was looking for was destined to appear. All I needed was to have faith.
«Oh! Bjorn's expression changed...!»
«Oh, I heard a story about this! When Your Honor wears that expression, it is a sign that you truly believe in yourself!»
Whatever will happen, I remained calm and continued feeding the gacha with mana stones.
Minutes passed.
I think I should start now...
[You have made a Long Iron Sword.]
At that moment, the necklace that had been spitting out bread, metals, bricks, and other random nonsense finally produced some suitable equipment. I wasn't very surprised. Unbeknownst to most, Garphas' necklace had a hidden trick.
The equivalent of about 7,777 rank nine mana stones, give or take.
In other words, about 1.55 million stones when converted to Rafdonia currency. Once you gave the necklace the mana stones needed to reach that amount, it guaranteed that it would spit out a random useful item.
[You have made a lithium shell].
This would be repeated every 1.55 million stones. I must have already spent 3.1 million stones to get this lithinum shell.
Not so bad for an early print run, really.
Of course, that was just a passing thought. I didn't mind a good early roll as I had no intention of stopping here.
«Hey? Bjorn! Why do you put more? This time it's not just stone bread! What waste».
Yeah, no, if I stood here and pulled out an object, I'd have to start stacking from the bottom again.
I had a feeling Ainar would still annoy me if I didn't give her some kind of minimal response, but luckily, Amelia spoke in my place before I had to open my mouth.
«Fenelin, shut up», he said from his place next to me. «Don't bother him».
«Oh, but I just... wondered why...»
«Shut up.»
«Ah, okay... I won't bother you...»
This was perhaps the best demonstration of why establishing proper hierarchy was important. After the beating he received at the Witch's Cabin, Ainar was especially reluctant to argue with Amelia.
Anyway, let's get back to our business.
[You have made a Long Arch of Red Wood.]
Next was an arch made from grade two materials.
[You have made an Iron Shield.]
Then came an old shield that was nowhere near the quality of mine, and so on.
After rolling nine equally useless pieces of equipment, it was time for the tenth to appear. More specifically, at the time I put about 15.55 million cash stones, or something like 777,777 rank nine mana stones, into the necklace, something new happened.
[You have created No. 9981: Ring of Vigor of the Castaway.]
A numbered object first appeared.
Of course, economically speaking, this wasn't exactly a big win. Not all Numbered Items were worth a good sum.
This one cost around two million stones, right?
Somehow he had gotten an item that cost even less than the lithinum shell from before. Not that it mattered, of course. I continued.
[You have made a Cloud Candy.]
[You have made a Magic Training Staff.]
[You have made a High Density Mana Grass.]
[You have made a Wyvern Leather Armor.]
[You have made a Temporary Spell Use Scroll (Orb of Light)...]
It was all medicines, equipment, materials and things like that. I barely noticed and skipped most of them as I continued pouring mana stones into the necklace.
«...Eh?»
Then suddenly I was paralyzed for one reason only.
[You have made Mystium ingot.]
What the hell...? A grade six metal?
Considering the common scroll that appeared just before, I suppose you could say that this is a normal dribble probability, but...
«It's mystium!»
«Isn't the price of a bullion in the hundreds of millions?»
If I stopped here, I could make tens of millions from this thing.
Damn.
Now I was trying to get rid of all the junk items, so why was I getting so lucky at the beginning of the game? I sighed to myself and put aside any lingering doubts. And then, I put mana stones back on the necklace.
«Ahhh!»
«Hey?!»
The crowd around me let out screams of astonishment.
Hey, don't jinx me.
I couldn't blame them though. How could little minds hope to understand the thoughts of a giant? And so, I continued to push forward for quite some time despite his lack of support.
Flash!
About 155 million stones in cash, or 7,777,777 rank nine mana stones later, the necklace turned red for the first time.
[Garphas' gift has been damaged due to excess mana].
Simply put, after this round of gacha was over, I wouldn't be able to spin anymore.
«Bjorn... Is the necklace okay? I think there's a crack going through it now...»
It wasn't right at all. But like I said at the beginning, I had no intention of backing down.
Let's see what I got.
I checked the surface of the red gem. As for the probabilities, there was a chance that he would take out a single-digit numbered object. If something good came out now, I could cut it short and leave it in the meantime...
[You have manufactured No. 535: Shield of the Polar Region.]
The Shield of the Polar Region was a shield that I often used with my Barbarian Shield before getting the best shield in the game.
No.
The shield wasn't bad, but a triple-digit here?
Who are you trying to scam?
I quickly passed him.
Although it was the most valuable item of all those that had appeared so far, no one around me was scared by what it had done. They probably didn't even know what it was. After all, there were very few weirdos in the world who went around memorizing each and every Numbered Item.
Following.
I put in another mana stone and checked what I got.
Following.
I continued vetoing objects. As the number of mana stones he used increased, so did the number of high-quality items that appeared, including some interesting ones.
[You have manufactured number 2988: Mark of the Guard Corps.]
The earrings I was already wearing.
[You have made a staff imbued with the power of the World Tree.]
A staff created from the grade six material, the World Tree, which made Versyl drool.
[You have made Five Bow Ingots.]
He had even gotten the maximum amount of grade six material bow possible.
[You have made a Divine Elixir.]
Then came a special potion that he knew had a certain chance of appearing only in the ninth floor Rift.
[You have created No. 7777: Garphas Necklace.]
I didn't know that was possible. Was she like a matryoshka or something? In any case, the thing was that I had seen a lot of objects and skipped them all.
[You have made Stone Bread.]
I was getting closer to the goal.
After putting in so many mana stones, I no longer knew what my exact count was, but I could sense it.
Only ten more.
I would reach my goal after about ten more mana stones.
[You have made stone bread.]
In cash, it was a grand total of around 1.55 billion stones.
[You have made Stone Bread.]
Or around 77,777,777 rank nine mana stones.
[You have made Stone Bread.]
Hmm...
[You have made Stone Bread.]
Hey?
[You have made Stone Bread.]
Wait...
[You have made Stone Bread.]
[You have made Stone Bread.]
[You have made Stone...]
I got nine stone loaves in a row at the end. Of course, it didn't really matter if it was stone loaves or steel ingots or whatever, but...
Swallow.
My hands stopped for a second, palms drenched in sweat for some reason. Revelation. The experience I was having right now seemed like a revelation to me. As if the universe itself was trying to tell me what awaited me.
... Nonsense.
I shook my head hard and gathered my courage. It was nothing more than a strange coincidence. There was no point in trying to attribute any meaning to it.
In fact, it could be a good thing.
From another perspective, it could be an optimistic sign. Although I wasn't the superstitious type, even I had a habit that sometimes when I played I would invest time in improving a team just so I could blow it up and go improve my real team later.
Yeah, so...
I introduced another mana stone with faith into my heart.
Flash!
The mana stone shattered and the necklace flashed with blinding light.
[You have reached the limit of mana stones that can be absorbed by the necklace.]
[Please be careful. From this moment on, the collar can break at any time.]
Now the real test of luck has begun. After absorbing 77,777,777 mana stones, Garphas' necklace became a guaranteed gacha. In other words, he now had a flat.
From that point on, he had a 100% chance of getting the highest-ranking numbered items, from the number 1 to 35.
How was my first attempt?
Tsk.
Yes, I figured this wasn't going to be easy.
[You have created No. 35: Naraka Rake.]
Of course, the Naraka Rake was an excellent item. It was a claw-shaped weapon that came in a set of two, and it had a lot of cool effects. Amelia would get a lot out of him in battle.
But was he going to settle for number 35 after spending 1.5 billion?
Mathematics didn't make sense.
Once again.
Since he had already reached the absorption limit, putting another mana stone on the necklace would definitely me-
[You have made No. 35: Naraka Rake.]
Hey?
Why didn't the object change? I definitely used a mana stone...
...Am I dreaming?
Although disbelief made my heart beat strongly, my mind analyzed things calmly. The Naraka Rake had appeared again.
Ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump.
The blood rose to my head and my vision began to narrow. My mouth felt strangely dry and something like a chill ran down my spine. I slowly introduced another mana stone.
[Please be careful. From now on, the collar can break at any time].
Although that warning was on my mind, it didn't worry me too much. He knew that the necklace would not self-destruct until after the third turn at least.
...Let's not stress.
This was all piling up, you know? My future was guaranteed full of sun and rainbows...
[You have created No. 35: Naraka Rake.]
«...Once again.»
[You have created No. 35: Naraka Rake.]
«What the fuck, are you kidding me?»
Curses came out of my mouth despite my attempts to stay calm. I couldn't take it anymore. My mind was confused and everything that had happened until then seemed suspicious to me. Especially those multiple stone loaves in a row.
Garphas' necklace.
Not to mention that object that appeared during one of my many rerolls. Maybe it had been a bad omen? A warning from the universe that today was not my day and that I should give up and try again later.
«...Yandel, are you okay?»
«Ah... Yes, I'm fine».
«You're pretty pale...»
«...That's not true. I'm lucky».
I forcibly lifted my spirits just as they were beginning to sink into despair.
Four rakes in a row?
Who cared? This was just one more obstacle to overcome. The sweet fruits of victory were always hidden behind the thorns of difficulties.
Necesito creer en mí mismo.
Repetí la revelación a la que había llegado antes e introduje una piedra de maná más con plena confianza.
[Has creado la nº 35: Rastrillo de Naraka].
Seguía bien. Todavía no había explotado, ¿verdad?
[Has creado el No. 35: Rastrillo de Naraka.]
Hmm, teniendo en cuenta que todavía no había explotado, el universo estaba claramente jugando un poco conmigo…
[Has creado el No. 35: Rastrillo de Naraka.]
…¿Quizás está roto?
[Has creado el No. 35: Rastrillo de Naraka.]
…Esto se estaba poniendo peligroso.
¡Ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump!
Mi corazón latía a toda velocidad.
[Has creado el No. 35: Rastrillo de Naraka.]
Al final, levanté la bandera blanca.
«…¿A-Ainar?»
Ainar Fenelin, una mujer que vivía una vida de muy poco pensamiento crítico, pero que siempre terminaba bien gracias a la pura suerte tonta.
«¿Qué pasa? ¿Qué pasa?», preguntó ladeando la cabeza. Había dejado de prestar atención a lo que hacía un rato y ahora estaba royendo algo de cecina a poca distancia.
«Eh…»
«¿Sí?»
«Could you come here... and put up a mana stone?». I asked nicely.
«Oh! Really? I've been wanting to try it at least once!».
Fortunately, Ainar accepted my offer and hurried to come.
[You have made No. 3: Aegis Wall.]
That day I learned a new universal truth.
«...Oh? It's a shield. It's good?»
I should let Ainar take care of these things from now on.