The glow of the monitor illuminated the face of a man leaning back in his gaming chair. On the screen, a global leaderboard was displayed—and at the very top sat a name he had grown far too familiar with.
[1. AegisCrow – Max Level]
He let out a quiet sigh.
"Again… me," he muttered, completely devoid of excitement.
In the world of Eternal Realm Online, AegisCrow was a living legend. The top-ranked player globally, holder of the fastest dungeon clear records, and a PvP win rate bordering on perfection. Anything he touched turned into victory. Once, every battle had sent adrenaline rushing through his veins. Every rare drop had made his heart pound.
Now?
Nothing.
He moved his mouse, opening an inventory overflowing with mythic-tier items.
"Divine Blade, Void Dragon Armor, Abyss Ring…" He gave a small laugh. "Even if all of this disappeared, I could get it back within a week."
He closed the game and stared at his reflection on the darkened monitor.
"Did I go too far?" he asked himself. "I started gaming to have fun—so why does this feel like work now?"
A few seconds passed.
Then, a reckless idea surfaced.
The corner of his lips lifted.
"…What if I start over?"
He reopened the Eternal Realm Online launcher and clicked an option he hadn't touched in years.
[Create New Character]
"Hm." He rested his chin on his hand. "This time—no overpowered builds, no guides, no meta."
The character creation screen appeared. Hair, face, race—he skipped through them without hesitation.
Until he reached the Character Name field.
His fingers paused above the keyboard.
"A name…" he murmured. "Something simple."
He typed slowly, deliberately, as if sealing a decision.
R A K K I
"Rakki," he said quietly. "Plain. Perfect."
He confirmed the entry. The name locked in.
Then came the screen that had sparked this whole idea.
[Stat Allocation]
STR – Strength
AGI – Agility
INT – Intelligence
VIT – Vitality
LUK – Luck
He stared at the bars for a long moment, then chuckled.
"As a top player, I've always said Luck is a trash stat," he said. "Unreliable. Impossible to calculate."
His cursor moved… and stopped on LUK.
"But that's exactly why," he continued, eyes narrowing with interest, "I want to try it."
He dumped every single starting point into one place.
LUK: MAX
A red system warning flashed.
[Warning: This stat distribution is not recommended for beginners.]
He laughed softly.
"Beginner? Relax. I'm a pro."
Click.
Confirm.
The screen flickered. The opening music for a new character played. Rakki was born—a level 1 character with no strength, no intelligence, no agility to speak of.
Only one thing stood out.
An absurd amount of Luck.
Rakki spawned in the beginner village. A guard NPC turned his head—and suddenly dropped his spear.
CLANG.
A system message rang out.
[You have obtained 'Old Guard's Coin']
[Rarity: Rare]
He froze.
"…What?"
He read the notification again.
"A rare coin… from an NPC who isn't even a quest giver?"
Before he could process it, another beginner player approached.
"Hey, bro," the player said over voice chat. "Did you just see that? That guard dropped a rare item."
Rakki—or rather, the man behind him—replied calmly.
"Oh. Yeah. It just dropped."
"Huh?! Seriously? That thing's drop rate is below one percent!"
A faint smile formed on his lips.
"Is that so?"
Rakki walked out of the village. A green slime jumped forward to attack. With his pitiful STR stat, his strike barely scratched it.
Then the slime slipped on its own.
POF.
[Critical Luck Event Triggered]
[Slime has dropped 'Gel Core']
[Bonus Drop Acquired]
"…This is getting interesting," he muttered.
He leaned back in his chair, eyes shining—an emotion he hadn't felt in years returning at last.
As AegisCrow, he was a bored god.
But as Rakki, he was just a beginner…
…with luck that mocked the very logic of the world.
"Alright," he whispered, as if speaking directly to the game itself. "Let's see how far luck can take me."
The door to his room opened without warning.
"My dear!"
He flinched, instinctively pressing ESC. The game froze right as another slime appeared on screen.
"What is it, Mom?" he replied, slightly annoyed.
His mother stood at the doorway, arms crossed. "I'm going to cook. We're out of rice, only two eggs left. Go to the grocery store now."
Rakki glanced at the clock in the corner of his screen. "Now?"
"Yes, now." Her tone left no room for argument. "Don't forget vegetables and cooking oil."
He let out a long sigh and spun his chair away from the desk.
"Alright, alright…" he muttered. "I'll save first."
He closed the game, stood up, and grabbed his wallet and a light jacket. As he passed his mother, he added, "I'll be quick."
"Be careful," she replied shortly.
The front door closed behind him.
The afternoon air was warm. Rakki walked along the sidewalk, hands in his jacket pockets, but his thoughts were already drifting back to the world he had just left behind.
"If that wasn't just a coincidence…" he thought, "then the Luck stat is seriously broken."
His steps slowed.
"If I farm low-level dungeons… they could turn into gold mines. And PvP? Would Luck make enemies miss all the time?"
He chuckled to himself. "If AegisCrow heard this, he'd call me an idiot."
The traffic light ahead turned green. Rakki stepped onto the crosswalk, still lost in thought.
"Tonight I'll try random quests. Everyone avoids those, but Rakki—"
A loud horn shattered his thoughts.
"Huh—?"
He turned his head.
A massive truck was barreling toward him—too fast, too close.
Time seemed to slow. All Rakki could see were blinding headlights and a wall of metal rushing forward.
"Seriously… now?" was the last thought that crossed his mind.
CRASH—!
Darkness.
—
Consciousness returned slowly, as if he were surfacing from deep water. The first thing he noticed wasn't pain—but lightness.
"Is this… a hospital?" he murmured.
He opened his eyes.
A clear blue sky stretched above him. Not the city sky, but something unnaturally perfect—white clouds hanging neatly, sunlight warm and gentle.
Rakki shot upright.
Green grass. A dirt road. Wooden houses.
"…What?"
He looked down.
His body felt lighter, younger. His hands were covered with thin leather gloves.
"Don't tell me…"
A transparent window appeared before him, floating in midair.
[Welcome to Eternal Realm Online]
Character: Rakki
Level: 1
His breath caught.
"…You've got to be kidding me."
He touched his chest. Simple cloth armor. He opened the status menu with a reflexive motion—far too natural to be coincidence.
STR: 1
AGI: 1
INT: 1
VIT: 1
LUK: MAX
Rakki stood there in silence.
"This isn't VR," he whispered. "I can feel the wind. I can smell the grass."
An NPC villager walked past him, smiling. "Welcome, new adventurer."
The voice sounded… real.
His heart began to race.
"So if that's the case," he said quietly, voice trembling, "then that truck…"
He let out a dry laugh. "Figures."
He looked up at the sky once more, then clenched his fist.
"I don't know if this is a dream, a bug, or another world," he said firmly. "But if I'm really stuck here…"
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
"…then Rakki isn't just a joke account anymore."
A soft system chime echoed.
[Hidden Condition Met]
[Luck recognizes the will of its bearer]
Rakki took a step forward toward the village gate—not as a bored top player,
but as someone who would now live
inside the game he once only played.