Kael swam back the way he came.
The moment his head broke the surface, he was met with a startled shout.
“Holy crap, what the hell was that?!”
Clad only in his shorts, Kael looked up to see two gatherers foraging for herbs on the riverbank.
“It’s too hot, just wanted to try out swimming,” Kael said, making up a random excuse as he hoisted himself onto the shore.
He hadn’t walked far when he heard them start talking behind him.
“Damn, I thought I saw a merman!”
“Yeah, you and me both. Scared the shit out of me.”
“Did he swim out of that cave over there?”
“Had to have. You think there’s a grind spot back there?”
“Dude, we gotta let the guild leader know…”
Kael knew the secret of the hidden passage was out, but he didn’t really care. There were countless farming zones like that one.
Back in the village, Kael walked up to the Chief and retrieved five cuts of beef from his inventory.
“Chief, I brought you that beef you wanted.”
The Chief took the meat absentmindedly. “Right. This… what’s this?” His eyes went wide as he examined the cuts, his voice filled with surprise. “This is prime quality beef! Excellent, just excellent.”
After the Chief’s second ‘excellent,’ a pair of notifications popped up for Kael.
[You have delivered Prime Beef to the Chief. You receive 5 Silver Coins and 1000 EXP.]
[System: Lucky Bonus triggered! You receive an additional 5 Silver Coins and 1000 EXP.]
This was the power of 999 Luck points in action—a bonus that multiplied his rewards many times over.
Without pausing, Kael requested the quest again. “Chief, I’ve got more if you’re still interested.”
The Chief nodded eagerly. “Of course! Beef this rare is extremely precious; I’m going to add it to my collection.”
Kael submitted another five pieces of Prime Beef.
[You have delivered Prime Beef to the Chief. You receive 5 Silver Coins and 1000 EXP.]
[System: Lucky Bonus triggered! You receive an additional 5 Silver Coins and 1000 EXP.]
He repeated this process ten times until the Chief finally stopped offering the quest.
It was a hidden D-rank weekly quest, repeatable ten times per player. Submitting Quality-1 beef would have only yielded 200 copper and 200 EXP. Quality-2 beef was better, at 300 copper and 300 EXP. But Kael’s Quality-5 meat gave him 5 silver and 1000 EXP per turn-in.
Over the ten repetitions, his Lucky Bonus had triggered eight times, netting him a total of 90 silver coins and 18,000 experience points.
Hell yeah.
The influx of EXP pushed him to level 9. As before, he allocated his new attribute points into Strength and Agility at a 2:3 ratio.
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The rest of the meat was useless for quests now, so Kael headed straight for the tavern. Mara was likely out on a date with Garick, so he was met by a waiter. Seeing him enter, the waiter greeted him with a warm smile.
“Welcome, sir! Hungry, or do you need a room upstairs?”
“Just need to use your kitchens, is that okay?” Kael asked.
“You are a friend of the owner, of course. Please select the ingredients you wish to cook.”
A menu screen appeared before him. He selected the 140 pieces of Beef from his inventory and hit confirm.
A dialogue box from the smiling waiter appeared:
[140 portions of [Beef] can be made into 35 portions of [Steak] for a fee of 7 Silver Coins. Do you wish to proceed?]
Kael nodded. “Do it.”
“Right away, sir. It won’t take a moment.”Seconds later, 35 portions of Steak appeared in his inventory.
[Prime Steak] (Quality 5)
Restores 500 HP over 3 seconds. Usable in combat.
Cooldown: 3 seconds.
Thirty-five portions would be more than enough for now.
Before heading out, Kael slapped a silver coin on the counter. “Give me a bottle of your cheapest Rye Ale, too.”
“Coming right up.”
With the steak and booze secured, he left the tavern.
He made a round of the various shops, dropping 50 silver on a full set of level 5 Common gear—helmet, necklace, chestpiece, leggings, and boots. He spent another 20 silver on ten bundles of arrows, 100 arrows per bundle.
His 90 silver had dwindled to just 12.
Kael couldn't help but sigh. “Money goes way too fast.”
The sun was starting to set. Kael checked the time: 5:50 PM.
Alright, time for that quest.
Kael turned and walked toward a deserted, gloomy alley behind the blacksmith shop. His target was conspicuous: Crazy Old Mag, an oddball who spent all day scavenging in the village. At this moment, he was huddled in the corner, shivering, firmly protecting a tattered sack.
Kael walked straight over, his footsteps startling the old man.
“Get lost! This is my treasure!” Mag’s withered hands gripped the sack tight, a low growl escaping his throat like a dog guarding its food. “No one takes my treasure!”
Kael pulled the bottle of Rye Ale from his inventory and shook it gently. The sound of the liquid sloshing against the glass instantly seized Mag’s attention.
“Gulp…” Mag’s gaze was glued to the bottle, his Adam's apple bobbing violently.
“Let's make a trade.” Kael shook the bottle again. “This is yours. I get one thing from the sack.”
Mag looked torn, glancing between the rags in his arms and the bottle of wine. The craving for alcohol quickly overpowered his obsession with the junk. He snatched the bottle, biting off the cork impatiently, and simultaneously kicked the sack toward Kael.
“Take it! Take it all! Don't disturb my drinking!”
Kael didn't waste words. He crouched down and untied the greasy knot. The bag was full of wood scraps and worthless pebbles—but among the trash lay a yellowed parchment.
Kael grabbed the parchment without hesitation. It was marked with a large 'X'.
He glanced at it and immediately locked onto the coordinates: an abandoned mill on the east side of the village.
He stowed the scroll and walked quickly to the location, skirting a collapsed wall and heading straight for a dead tree in the corner of the mill yard.
Following the map’s guidance, he dug away the loose soil at the base of the tree. His fingers soon hit something hard—a treasure chest.
Kael didn't hesitate; he flipped the lid open.
[You have discovered a hidden treasure.]
[You have obtained [Elven Quiver (Epic)]!]
[System: Lucky Bonus triggered! Your reward has been upgraded to [Elven Quiver (Legendary)]!]
A grin spread across Kael’s face as he read the notification. 999 Luck was just too cool.
[Elven Quiver (Legendary)] Level 5
+40 Strength
+70 Agility
+120 Attack
Auto-Retrieve: Arrows that are fired are automatically returned to the quiver.
Since it was an off-hand item, it didn't provide as much raw Attack Power as his level 1 bow, Whisperwind, but the stat boosts more than made up for it. Plus, the Auto-Retrieve skill was incredibly useful. Even just for grinding mobs, this would save him a massive amount of time.
Kael equipped the Elven Quiver, watching his stats jump once more.
Player: Dawnbreaker
Class: Archer
Level: 9
HP: 380
MP: 140
Strength: 100
Constitution: 19
Agility: 181
Intellect: 14
Spirit: 14
Free Attribute Points: 0
Physical Attack: 540
Physical Defense: 50
Magic Attack: 14
Magic Defense: 7
Range: 35 yards
Luck: 999
Skill Points: 9
Innate Skill:
Marksman’s Instinct: Your attacks deal bonus damage equal to Agility * 0.5.
With the new stats, Kael’s basic attacks now hit for over 600 damage.
Beep-beep-beep.
A friend notification chimed. He only had one friend right now: Hazel. The message had to be from her. He opened it and found a single, frantic line.
“HELP! Forest east of the village!”
