Chapter 25

[Translator: Dawn ]

[Proofreader: Alissa ]

Chapter 25: [Side Story] Opening boxes

The reward boxes for clearing the stage appeared in front of me.

There were two R-rank boxes and three N-rank boxes. 

‘All I got was a weird necklace from the EX-rank box I opened last time.’ 

I placed my hand on my neck. The necklace I got back then was around my neck. 

What did it say again? Something about how proceeding further into the story would allow me to use it? 

‘Well, I don’t know what great feature it holds…” 

I want something that could be of help to me right now. I want to get something that will be useful right away in the next stage. 

I placed the three N-rank boxes on my bed. 

Stage reward boxes mainly contain consumable items and material items, and rarely complete equipment. 

Even if complete equipment comes out, it will most likely have a low rank. There’s a 99% chance that equipment coming from N-rank boxes will be N-rank as well. 

‘The chance of obtaining equipment of higher rank isn’t 0% though!” 

Who knows? I might have crazy enough luck to get a piece of SSR-ranked equipment from it! 

I quickly opened all three N-rank boxes simultaneously. 

“Did I get it?!” 

A bright light leaked from the box with an open lid. Just by looking at the color, you could roughly tell the rank of the item. Let’s see, what color is it?! 

Gray! 

Gray. 

And gray… 

All three of them were gray, which means they were all N-rank items. 

“Tch…” 

As always. I was dumb to get my hopes up on N-rank boxes. 

I muttered as I checked the items. Let’s see. 

[Rewards] 

– Advanced HP Potion 

– Advanced HP Potion 

– Ice attribute enchantment scroll 

All three of them were consumables. Had I gotten material items then I would’ve been able to use them to craft things. 

‘Well, at least they’re useful consumables.’ 

Advanced potions have a much superior effect than normal potions. They’re fairly effective when used in emergencies. 

Enchantment scrolls are also useful items. Upon usage, they add an attribute to a weapon for an entire stage. 

If I could use this on Demian’s crossbow… Then it would prove to be very effective. 

‘I’ll store these for later.’ 

I turned my gaze to the R-rank boxes. I’m going to open them one by one. 

I opened my first box. 

“What did I get?!”Flash! 

A blue light leaked through the cracks in the open box. 

Oh, nice! R-rank item! 

[Standard Advanced Magic Core (R)] 

“It’s a material item…” 

I muttered as I didn’t get what I wanted, but a magic core is the rarest item out of the material items. 

Magic cores are a key material for high-end equipment and are usually used to make high-rank weapons or artifacts 

‘I’ve collected three magic cores so far.’ 

I checked my inventory. 

The first one was the ‘Magic Core of the Black Spider Queen (SSR)’, which I acquired from the tutorial stage. 

And the second one was the ‘Magic Core of the Specter Knight (SR)’, which I got today from Stage 1. 

And the last one was this, ‘Standard Advanced Magic Core (R)’. 

‘When I start crafting items, they will prove to be very useful…’ 

I stored them back in the inventory, then held the last R-rank box in my hand. Without big hopes, I opened it. 

Click!Immediately after, a brilliant golden light erupted from the cracks of the opened box. 

“Huh?” 

I opened my eyes widely. 

A golden light? An SSR-rank item?! Am I so drunk that I’m starting to see things?! 

Ta-dah-!Then, along with a loud fanfare sound effect, a pair of gloves came out of the box, sprinkling dazzling gold. These were black leather gloves studded with metal on the knuckle. 

“Oh my golden Jesus Christ, muh lord!” 

I was so surprised that I jumped on the bed. 

An SSR-rank item came out, not to mention—it was completed?! 

Flustered, I quickly grabbed the glove with both hands and checked the name and options. 

What is it?! 

[Lucky Strike (SSR) Lv. 7] 

– Class: Fighting glove 

– Attack: 0~777 

– Durability: 7/7 

– A 1% bonus is added to all probability checks. 

< “It’s my lucky day.” - A certain gambler.  “Oh, for fuck’s sake-!”I just threw the gloves on the floor. Why?! Among all SSR-rank unique weapons, it had to be this one! “It had to be this meme item!” This meretricious glove has no other effect than its stated effect in the description. That’s right. If you were lucky enough, you would deal enough damage to one-shot a boss monster, but if you weren’t, you would deal 0 damage. The Fighter class ran wild with RNG since its fundamental skills were based on luck. If a fighter was equipped with this item, that unit would become a living and walking roulette machine. While it was able to entertain viewers back when I streamed, the characters wearing it were mostly killed in battle. Even with the probability bonus, they mostly dealt damage in the one digits, causing the character to die easily. “How the hell am I supposed to use this piece of shit item!” I held back my tears of blood. Not only did I not have any fighter class hero units, but this weapon is also for memes. It had no real practical usage! But I can’t just discard it. I can’t give it to anyone either… I thought about it for a moment, then I equipped the glove on my hands. I figured it’d be better than the sword I was wielding since it was only for decoration. Click! I raised my gloved hands and looked. They were very comfortable to wear. I guess that was because they were an SSR-rank item. “Sigh… Well, I guess they’re better than nothing…” I'm never going to wield a weapon on the front line anyway. I don’t even have combat aptitude. I could at least pray for a jackpot in the most desperate situations. Let’s think positively. “...Fuck.” Easier said than done! Aaaahh! I wrapped my arms around my head and ripped my hair off. Since I got an SSR-rank item, why didn’t I get something better than this?! There was the ‘Tear of the Celestial Angel’, or ‘Life Eater’, or something like ‘Heaven’s Shine’. There were so many broken OP items that would make my life so much more comfortable, and yet—! It! Had! To be! Lucky! Strike! I was able to finally fall asleep in the middle of dawn after being resentful at how unlucky I was.   [Translator: Dawn ] [Proofreader: Alissa ] Join our discord for release updates!    The next day. “Ouch, ouch. My head…” I woke up with a hangover and realized that it was past noon. When I came out of the room, all the people who worked in the mansion had their eyes tired. Everyone was hungover. “Your Highness, you are awake.” Lucas, who was standing in front of my door, greeted me with a smile on his face. It looked like he also drank too much. His always-neat blonde hair was noticeably messed up. “Are you okay? You should’ve rested ‘til afternoon.” “How could I do such a thing as your escort knight, Your Highness.” Immediately afterward, Lucas made a loud groan and covered his mouth. “However… This is indeed quite exhausting.” “It sure must be if you are to say it.” As I was thinking if there was a way to get rid of the hangover, “Good morning to you two!” Aider showed up in the hallway. Why’s this guy so okay? Two steaming hot cups were placed on the tray in Aider's hand. “Now, now! I’ve brought you some warm honey water. This will help!” Aider handed over the cups to us. I gotta thank him for this one. When I swallowed the hot honey water, I felt a little relieved. Finally, I feel somewhat alive. Lucas and I emptied the cups and returned them to Aider. Aider, who took the cups, smiled. “You must be tired from the battle and hangover. I suggest you take a break for the day~!” “How could I? I must get ready for the next stage right away.” I slapped my face with both my hands. I finally got a hold of myself. “Aider. Could you cash out the magic crystals we got from yesterday?” “I’ve already finished the preparatiooons. However, we won’t make as much money as we did last time, with the Black Spider magic crystaaals” There was a difference in the quality, and the demand from the merchants must have decreased since we sold a large number of magic crystals last time. That was something I couldn’t do anything about. “I’ll leave that to you. Do your best for the pricing.” “Leave it to meee!” “Alright. That’s that with the magic crystal case… Lucas, and Aider. Follow me. I’ve got a place to visit.” I brought Lucas and Aider out of the mansion. I headed to the city’s forge. When I arrived at the forge, I could see a bunch of blacksmiths beating irons and using bellows. I saw a thin system window at the entrance. [Facility - Forge Lv. 3] A city's facility level can be increased from 1 to 10. There are several advantages to leveling up. The type of equipment that can be produced increases when the forge is at a higher level, and the probability of producing high-rank equipment also increases. At level 3, all basic functions are available. ‘I’ll have to pour some money here too…” I spent a lot of the funds I earned from the tutorial stage, but there was no end to spending money. I need to come up with a systematic money management plan. “Welcome, Your Highness!” The master of the blacksmiths’ union came springing from the back. I immediately jumped to the main reason why I came here. “I’d like to request equipment for you to make.” There were a lot of things that needed to be forged, but I decided to place an order for things that were needed right away. “Since you’ve only ordered us to repair the castle walls and defensive ordnance, I thought you forgot what we truly excelled in.” When I mentioned equipment forging, the master’s eyes changed. “We will do our absolute best to match your expectations. What kind of equipment would you like?” “Armors.” I held forward the 'Magic core of the Specter Knight' obtained in the last stage. “Make this the core of the equipment, and use the highest quality materials at your disposal.” Needless to say, this was an armor for Lucas. Lucas must continue to fight at the forefront as an SSR-rank knight. I will have to put stronger armor on him in order for me to feel safe with him fighting at the forefront. The Specter Knight was the commander of the Living Armor Legion, and equipment made with its magic core will naturally have durability and stamina bonuses. It will be a great material for the armor. “This is… a valuable material indeed.” The blacksmith gulped while taking the magic core. “This is the first order I am giving out to you. I have high expectations.” “We will not disappoint you.” “Alright, Lucas. Go get your measurement.” In the game, anyone could wear any equipment, but the place we stood in was a reality. The equipment must be made in the right size for Lucas. Lucas was smiling as he came out of the forge after being done with the measuring. “What are you smiling about?” “I’m just happy that you’re gifting me a set of armor.” “It’s so you could take on even more dangerous missions.” “That means you trust me with those missions.” Was he always good at talking like this? After shaking my head, I left the forge. “Let’s go take a look at the fortress wall next.” We headed to the southern wall together. “Woah.” As soon as we arrived at the wall, I couldn’t help but let out that sound. The Specter Knight’s giant sword was still stuck in the wall. The walls around the place where the sword was embedded had been torn down. The iron plates were torn apart, and the bricks were melted or turned into powder. “This won’t block the monsters out, it won’t even block wild animals out… How long will it take to repair this?” I asked the master who was estimating the repairs on the wall. The union master shook his head. “The damage is too severe. It will take more than two weeks to fully repair it.” “Two whole weeks?” “Two weeks for repairs only. Lifting that sword is another matter…” The masons’ union master muffled his words. “Tsk.” I clicked my tongue. In other words, it may take several days to lift the sword, and two weeks to repair the wall after removing it.  [STAGE 2] - Until the start: 9 days 20 hours  The time. There’s just not enough time. I placed my palm on my face. What should I do? Join our discord for release updates!