System Notice: You have 24 hours before the Third Trial begins.
Trial Type: Team Combat. Randomized squads of 5. Only the winning team will proceed.
The message fades, replaced by a soft blue interface hovering above me. I let out a long breath, fingers rubbing my temples. The concrete room is the same — plain, sterile, with no windows and no doors until the system decides I'm allowed out again.
Twenty-four hours.
One last window.
Luck scaling stops after the third trial. After that, it's just raw skill, strategy, and whatever I've managed to scrape together in the chaos. That means this is my final chance to abuse the system's blind spot — and I don't plan on wasting it.
I sit cross-legged on the cold floor and open the system interface.
"System. Open Shop."
A flicker, then a grid of options unfolds: weapons, skills, potions, materials, oddities.
My Luck stat is sitting at 91, which means every refresh gives me higher-tier items — sometimes hidden ones not visible to low-Luck users.
[Shop Interface — Luck-Synced View Enabled]Points: 28,000
Not bad, but I'll need more.
I scroll through the tabs, eyes sharp.
Mystery Chest – Tier 3 [5,000 points] – Chance of high-grade items. Warning: Chance-based."Limited Offer: Mana Resonance Bead" – [8,500 points]"Unknown Egg (???) – [20,000 points]"
Even the egg pops up. I've seen it before. Most people skip it — who the hell has the time to raise a creature in a death game?
But I know what's inside.
Buy.
The egg vanishes into my inventory with a low chime.
Next up, potions, scrolls, and artifacts. I refresh the page. Again. Again. Each time, rarer goods rise to the top.
"Infernal Core (Damaged)" – 15,000"Skill Scroll: Flicker Step" – 12,000"Title Unlock Fragment – 9,000"
That last one catches my eye.
Buy.
A ripple echoes through the interface.
[Title Fragment acquired. Combining with existing data...]
[Title Unlocked: Fate Twister]
Effect: Passive increase to item drop quality. +3 Luck when acquiring randomized rewards. Unlocks secret shop tab.
That's it.
That's the cascade.
The door finally opens — not from the trial starting, but to let me out into the designated "rest zone." An underground hub shaped like a bunker's commons: cold metal benches, a long hallway leading to private training rooms, and what looks like a cafeteria vending machine line.
I walk straight to the machine labeled "Roulette Market."
You get one spin for 1,000 points — randomized reward. Luck affects outcome.
The last time I was here? I pulled a pack of basic bandages. Try #7, maybe.
This time? With Fate Twister?
Let's test it.
"Spin once."
Whirrrrr—DING!
[You received: Enchanted Gauntlet – Ember-threaded (Uncommon → Upgraded to Rare)]
[Effect: Slight increase to flame magic conductivity. Small physical defense buff.]
Nice.
I crack my knuckles and grin.
"Spin five more times."
Ten spins.
That's all it takes before I pull something stupid lucky:
[Artifact: Black Crystal Mirror (Epic)]
Effect: Reveals hidden statuses. Reflects low-tier illusions. Unlocks extra appraisal detail.
The mirror trembles in my hand like it's alive. It shouldn't be here. Not at this stage. I'd only seen it on attempt 14… and that was near the endgame. The fact it's here now means the System is still trying to catch up with my Luck curve.
"Equip."
I feel the pulse settle over my eyes, like a second eyelid sliding into place. Appraisal's range just got a hell of a lot wider.
[Skill Upgrade: All-Seeing Eye → All-Seeing Eye II]
New Function: Targeted Analysis. Cooldown: 10 seconds. Can now read surface thoughts under stress.
This is why I dumped everything into Luck.
This right here.
The rest of the day I spend holed up in one of the training rooms, testing the egg (no signs of hatching), rotating mana through the Hellfire Sword Handle, and forcing myself to meditate. Not to train — no, my stats are too lopsided right now to brute-force anything.
I meditate to remember.
What comes next.Who dies next.Which team will fail.And which one I need to be placed into.
The third trial is team combat. Five people to a team. One team survives.
The trick isn't just being strong. It's getting placed with the people who won't drag you down. And if I can't manipulate the team assignment — I'll just carry harder than anyone else.
By the time the 24 hours end, my inventory is stacked:
Hellfire Sword Handle (Mana-infused = active blade mode)
Flame-thread Gauntlet
Black Crystal Mirror (equipped)
Title: Fate Twister (active)
All-Seeing Eye II
Egg (Unknown, sealed)
Mana x4, Strength x2, Health x2
Scrolls memorized: Flicker Step, Archmage's Flame
And…
Luck: 91
Never again will I be able to stack it this high. The system will shut it down after this trial. Too many people abused it in other timelines. That's why they patched it.
But I've already broken the curve.
The system bell chimes again.
[Notice: Trial Three Commencing – All players, report to assigned gate.]
I sling the sword handle on my back, slip the mask over my face, and walk down the steel hallway. Every footstep echoes like a gunshot.
Other players are watching me.
Some whisper.
One girl stares at the egg in my arm and blinks like it's a hallucination.
I ignore all of it.
I don't need allies. Not for this.
I stop just short of the gate and open the Player Rankings one last time.
#1 – Crying Nut – 91 Luck – 63 Kills – Feats: 8#2 – Snow – 57 Luck – 40 Kills – Feats: 3#3 – Juno – 54 Luck – 35 Kills – Feats: 2
My eyes narrow.
"Tch... They're copying me."
I let the interface flicker shut as the gate begins to rise.
"So they're upgrading Luck too… Not bad.""But they're twenty attempts too late."
The steel grinds upward, revealing the light beyond.
Trial Three awaits.