Chapter 4 Chapter 4: Reinforcement+20"Favour of the Goddess of Luck" - SSS-Rank Luck: The First Kill

【 DING! Berserk Wild Boar eliminated. 】

【 EXP +5 | Copper Coins +5 | Common Enhancement Stone x10 】

【 ITEM DROP: Common Top (Bronze) Constitution +1, Magic Attack +1 | Level Requirement: 0 】

Alex exhaled slowly and rolled his shoulder.

Level 2 monsters.Not a joke.

He pulled on the bronze top without ceremony it wasn't pretty, but the stat bump was real and turned to find about twenty people staring at him like he'd just walked out of a movie screen.

"Did you see that damage?"

"The Mage class is broken. I picked Beast Master and I genuinely want to cry."

"I heard from Ryan that this is the guy Ace. The one who got the first kill."

"*That's Ace? No wonder."

Alex glanced at the name display floating above his own head. He'd already hidden it before entering the crowd but the title was harder to hide.

【 The Great First Step 】 pulsed with a rich purple light, unmistakable, the kind of glow that said *this person is ahead of you and they know it.

He was going to need to move faster. Purple titles attracted attention. And attention in a world without laws attracted the wrong kind of people.

"Hey Big Shot!"

A young woman stepped forward from the edge of the crowd. Priest class, starter robes, hopeful expression. She had her hands clasped in front of her and was smiling in the particular way that meant she'd already decided the answer was yes.

"Want to team up? I'm a Healer. D-rank talent, but I'm a fast learner"

Alex glanced at her stat panel she'd left it visible, probably intentionally and kept his expression neutral.

D-rank. In a world where talent determined your ceiling, D-rank was a very low ceiling.

He shook his head, not unkindly.

"Sorry. I've got a quest I need to finish solo. Maybe we'll cross paths again."

He turned and walked before she could reply.

He moved through the forest at a steady pace, staff in hand, and opened his inventory.

Ten Common Enhancement Stones. Right there, sitting in his backpack like a quiet promise.

He pulled up the Common Staff and tapped enhance.

【 DING! Consume 1 Common Enhancement Stone + 10 Copper Coins to enhance this equipment? 】

(Currency exchange: 1 Gold = 100 Silver = 10,000 Copper)

"Enhance."

The first kill reward had dropped 1 Gold Coin ten thousand copper. Enhancement costs were pocket change by comparison.

【 DING! Enhancement successful!

【 DING! Enhancement successful! 】

【 DING! Enhancement successful... 】

One after another. No hesitation. No failures.

Because with maxed Luck, there were no failures.

By the time the tenth stone was spent, the staff in Alex's hand had transformed.

【 Common Staff +10 (Bronze) 】

Magic Attack +5 (+5)

Enhancement Bonus: +10% base stats per level. Scales with base stat value.

He examined it with quiet satisfaction.

Normal players would sweat bullets over enhancement even a 90% success rate could gut you at the worst moment, draining your stones, your coins, your sanityon a single failed roll. He'd seen forum threads that read like grief support groups.

For him? Ten stones, ten successes. Clean and simple.

SSS-rank Luck. Gods Chosen.

This is what it looks like.

His Magic Attack was sitting at 26 now. But he wasn't done.

He'd just learned from the system database that the maximum enhancement level in the End World was +20.And the scaling beyond +10 was brutal each level reduced success rate by 5%, making the final step from +19 to +20 a savage 1% chance.

One percent.

For everyone else.

Alex looked at the mini-map. He needed ten more Enhancement Stones.

Time to work.

The next stretch of forest became a quiet, efficient hunting ground.

Slimes. Wild Rabbits. Anything that moved and had a health bar.

【 Lv.1 Slime eliminated EXP +1 | Copper Coin +1 | Enhancement Stone +1 】

【 Common Top (Bronze) dropped 】

【 Lv.1 Wild Rabbit eliminated EXP +1 | Copper Coin +1 | Basic HP Potion +1 | Basic MP Potion +1 】

Monster after monster, stone after stone.

By the time he'd cleared a dozen of them, Alex's legs ached and his MP had dipped and recovered twice over. But his pack was full and right at the bottom of it, ten fresh Enhancement Stones sat waiting.

He grinned despite himself.

Tired. Happy. Same thing right now.

"Finally."

He stopped walking, planted his staff in the soft ground, and began.

【 DING! Enhancement successful! 】

【 DING! Enhancement successful... 】

【 +11... +13... +16... +18... +19... 】

The staff was glowing now. Faintly at first, then brighter a warm gold light that pulsed with each successful enhancement like a heartbeat getting stronger.

Alex held his breath for exactly one second.

Then tapped the final enhance.

【 !! DING !! 】

【 CONGRATULATIONS — Common Staff enhanced to +20! Maximum enhancement reached! Cannot enhance further! 】

【 Common Staff +20 (Bronze) 】

Magic Attack +5 (+10)

【 Bronze Affix Unlocked: BASIC ATTACK MASTERY 】

Basic attacks deal an additional +20% Magic Attack damage.

Casting Speed +10%.

"An extraordinarily uncommon Common Staff..."

Alex stared at the staff in his hands.

It was shining. Pure gold light running up the shaft like veins, the tip burning softly in the dim forest. For a piece of Common-tier bronze equipment, it looked like something that belonged in a trophy case.

He ran the math in his head.

His Fireball hit for roughly 22 damage per cast. His basic magic bolt previously the weaker option, the filler between cooldowns now hit for the same range, boosted by the affix's flat 20% addition. And with casting speed up 10%, the gap between shots had shrunk.

"Left hand hits hard. Right hand hits hard." He spun the staff once. "I'll take it."

At this stage of the game, when most people were swinging novice swords for single-digit damage and praying for a skill scroll this staff was practically a divine artifact.

He was still smiling when the chime hit.

【 !! DING !! 】

【 Congratulations, Adventurer "ACE" you are the FIRST player in the New York Eastern Sector to enhance equipment to +20! 】

【 Achievement Unlocked: "FAVOR OF THE GODDESS OF LUCK" 】

【 A Regional Announcement will be broadcast. Hide your ID? 】

Alex didn't even pause.

"Don't bother asking. Broadcast it. Three times."

He thought of Derek Walsh somewhere out there with zero resurrections, negative Luck, a force-equipped Cursed title, and no sword and felt nothing but clean, bright satisfaction.

Every announcement is a message. And Derek can read every single one.

【 !! REGIONAL ANNOUNCEMENT NEW YORK EASTERN SECTOR !! 】

【 Congratulations to Adventurer "ACE" for becoming the first player in the New York Sector to enhance equipment to +20! Achievement: "FAVOR OF THE GODDESS OF LUCK" unlocked! 】

【 Remember: Luck is strength too. 】

(× 3)

The regional chat imploded.

【 BronxBaller 】: +20?? I can't even afford the copper for +1. I'm going to lie down.

【 TotallyNotSalty 】: There is NO way that's legitimate. Where did he get that many stones?? Dev-sponsored. Has to be. I'm not accepting this.

【 VanishingVictor 】: I'm filing a report. That's hacking. That's HACKING. (Furious)

【 TenCombatTheories 】:Enhancement is merely luck. True power lies in mastery of combat fundamentals. I have compiled ten essential combat theories available for just 10 Copper Coins each. DM for details.

【 HopefulDisciple 】:Master, I've already sent a friend request. Please accept.

Alex paused on that last one.

TenCombatTheories. He read the username twice.

"...Is that guy selling strategy guides? Right now? In the middle of the apocalypse?"

He rolled his eyes and closed the chat.

The achievement reward materialized in his inventory before he'd taken three more steps.

【 DING! Achievement reward delivered to Adventurer "ACE." 】

【 Gold Coin +1 】

【 Accessory acquired: "FAVOR OF THE GODDESS OF LUCK" (Silver-Grade, Upgradable) — placed in backpack 】

Silver-grade.

Alex stopped walking entirely.

He opened his inventory with hands that moved just slightly faster than usual.

There, nestled in its own slot like it had always belonged there, was a necklace. Delicate chain, teardrop pendant — a deep ocean blue gemstone that caught the filtered forest light and scattered it in soft arcs across his palm.

He pulled up the details.

【 FAVOR OF THE GODDESS OF LUCK 】

(Silver-Grade | Upgradable)

(Upgrade path unlocks at Lv.10 via Achievement Quests)

Magic Attack +10

Spirit +10

Level Requirement: 1

Luck +1(Maxed — converted to +1% Critical Strike Rate)

Passive LUCKY STRIKE:1% chance on any hit to receive the Goddess of Luck's favor, dealing 10× damage.

"It is said the Goddess of Luck once blessed a brave young man on a stormy night. When he woke, he found this necklace beside his pillow. After she had gone, the young man wept for three days and three nights — not from being moved, but because his legs had completely given out..."

Alex read the item description.

Read it again.

"...That's me, isn't it."

He put the necklace on immediately.

The 10× damage Lucky Strike passive alone was enough to make him want to find the nearest monster and test it immediately. A 1% proc rate sounded low until you remembered he was fighting multiple enemies per minute, every minute, indefinitely.

And it scaled off his total Magic Attack.

Which was already absurd.

He pulled up his full stat panel.

【 ACE — Lv.1 】(Titles: The Great First Step)

| Stat | Value |

|---|---|

| Magic Attack | 41 |

| Spirit | 21(210 MP / 21 Mag. Defense) |

| Constitution | 11(110 HP / 11 Phys. Defense)|

| Agility | 10 |

| Crit Rate | 2% |

He stared at the Magic Attack line for a moment.

At Level 1. While most players were averaging 10.

One Fireball plus one basic attack was already 51+ damage. If Lucky Strike triggered 10× on any of those hits it was instant deletion for anything at this tier.

"Right," he said quietly. "Let's not test that on anything that can fight back."

He turned northeast, toward the Riverside Haven marker, and started walking.

On the other side of the forest, a figure was crouched under a broad oak tree with his knees pulled to his chest and his face in his hands.

Derek Walsh.

He'd heard the announcement.

Both of them. The first kill. The +20 enhancement. Favor of the Goddess of Luck.

He'd heard every single word, three times each, broadcast across the entire sector in a voice that might as well have been saying Derek, are you listening? Derek, do you hear me? Derek, this is what you made.

He stared at his own stat panel and felt something in his chest cave inward.

【 DEREK WALSH Lv.0 】(Title: CURSED FORCE EQUIPPED)

| Stat | Value |

|---|---|

| Physical Attack | 7(-1) |

| Magic Attack | 0(-1) |

| Constitution | 6(-1) |

| Spirit | 5(-1) |

| Agility | 2(-1) |

| Luck | -1(Cursed buff active) |

| Resurrections | 0 |

Level zero. No sword. No money. No resurrections.

And a Cursed title bolted to his name like a scarlet letter that the system refused to let him take off.

"AAAARGH!"

He pressed both fists against the sides of his head. The frustration was physical a pressure behind his eyes, a tightness in his throat that had nowhere to go.

Carter. That useless, quiet, overlooked Carter somehow the luckiest man in the entire New York Eastern Sector.

How? HOW?

Derek breathed through it. Slowly. In. Out.

Okay. Okay. I need a team. I can't do anything alone at Level zero with no weapon. I find a team, I grind, I level up, I get a new sword. Simple.

He stood up, brushed the dirt off his trousers with what remained of his dignity, and walked toward the sound of voices.

A small cluster of players had formed a grinding party nearby. At the center of them, a female Mage with the handle【 SunshineState 】was recruiting loudly.

"Looking for DPS and Healers! No passengers! Carry your own weight!"

Derek straightened his back. Walked over. Applied.

【 "Brooklyn_Beast" has declined your party request. 】

【 "EspressoShot" has declined your party request. 】

【 "GrumpyGrandmaGreta" has declined your party request and added you to their blocked list. 】

【 Private message from "LansdowneLarry": Get away from me. Seriously. 】

Derek stared at the stream of rejections.

His Cursed title was visible. His Level 0 was visible. His Luck stat, negative one, was probably radiating off him like a bad smell.

He applied to three more parties.

【 Rejected. 】

【 Rejected and blocked. 】

He was about to sit back down in the dirt when

【 DING! You have been accepted into "NightO

wlNate"'s party! 】

Derek froze.

His eyes went wide.

Then against everything, he felt his throat tighten with something embarrassingly close to relief.

"Someone" His voice cracked. He steadied it. "Someone finally, okay. Okay. We're doing this. We're getting back on track"

【 DING! You have been removed from "NightOwlNate"'s party by the party leader. 】