DCRBG 81

DCRBG

Chapter 81

Proof of Luck (1)

1.

[Proceeding to the location for <Proof of Luck>.]

[You have entered <Floor 3 – The Hidden Smithy>.]

[Pick up the <Angel’s Sword>, and enhance it using enhancement materials and a hammer. Materials can be collected around the smithy.]

Unquestionably the worst among the 4th-floor promotion quests.

That’s how Proof of Luck began.

I looked down at the sword embedded before me and let out a deep sigh.

Gima, you son of a bitch, are you awake?

Why on earth did you throw me into the most dreadful promotion quest?

This is unfair.

“Boss. Did Gima take a bribe? Give me a refund.”

This must be how it feels to get stabbed in the back by a trusted comrade.

As I muttered while sighing, sharp virtual canes soon flew in through the chat window.

He’s scaredㅋ He’s scaredㅋ He’s scaredㅋ
Meteor should experience it once too, right?ㅋㅋㅋ
But for someone like Meteor, he’s lucky, isn’t he?ㅋ He might clear it quickly
Info) It’s called Proof of Luck, but it’s actually ‘Proof of Grind’ㅋㅋ This is seriously not easy
Is +14 the hell level?
I think it was like thatㅇㅇ

Everyone was having a field day.
As expected, viewers get excited when the streamer suffers.
My misfortune is the viewers’ joy, isn’t it?
A true streamer should willingly accept that misfortune and overcome it… Ah, I really hate this.

“User guide?”

As I approached the sword, I could soon see the paper placed in front of it.

It read as follows:

“Wanderer who has entered to prove your own luck, test your fortune here.”

After the sentence that started with such grand words, the guide continued:

“Success rate for +2~+4: 70%”
“Success rate for +5~+7: 65%”
“Success rate for +8~+9: 55%”
“+10: 50%, +11, +12: 45%, +13: 40%, +14: 30%, +15: 5%”
“Upon failing an enhancement from +10 onwards, the level drops by 1 stage, and there is a 10% chance it resets to +1.”
“Each time you reach +14, a 2% additional success rate is granted for +15. May this be the blessing of the Almighty God.”
“I wish you luck.”

“Where’s the developer’s conscience? Admin call.”

[No valid reason! Cannot call <Administrator>!]

It’s really dizzying.
Not just dizzying, it’s downright malicious.
Even with all materials prepared, it looks tough, but you have to collect materials every time you attempt an enhancement?

The bastard who planned this is definitely a demon.

“This needs normalization.”

Especially that +15 success rate.
The 5% itself is disagreeable. Moreover, from +10 onwards, on failure, the stage drops, and on failure, there’s a 10% chance the equipment breaks?

Madmen.
I feel like I know a game with a similar system…

At least there’s a pity system, right?ㅋㅋ Have a drink
2% added each time you reach +14… is this the pity system? Right?
Ah, anyway, it means there’s a pity system
This is real enhancement
Why do I smell a familiar K-RPG scent from Abyss?
A day that makes me miss MapleStory
ㅋㅋㅋMaterial collection isn’t easy eitherㅇㅇ
If you have bad luck, just hit the pity and draw, right.
At this point, shouldn’t it be called Proof of Persistence rather than Proof of Luck?

Yeah, as the viewers say, there’s a pity system, so in theory, if you grind time, you can pass with 100% probability.
But how much time it would take was even hard to calculate.

“Is it because I’m from liberal arts that I can’t calculate expected value?”

ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Even science students can’t do it, manㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
I’ll go ask GPT and come back
What’s important about expected value? You either succeed or fail, so isn’t it 50%?????????
ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Watching this, just material gathering takes about 30 minutes
Are we in for a long night tonight?
Going for Meteor’s streaming time record?

Of all things, to get stuck with this crap.
If only something refreshing like, uh, Proof of Power, had come up, how nice it would have been.
But what can I do.
If I gotta do it, I gotta do it.

Grumbling, I picked up the sword and slowly walked forward.
Seeing a shiny room ahead, it seemed that was clearly the enhancement area.
Materials or whatever, let’s check the structure first.

[You have entered <The Lucky Refinery>.]

The moment I stepped there, along with the message,

CLAAANG-!
CLAAANG-!

I could see a man diligently hammering something.
Beside him were piles of what looked like stones—perhaps an NPC managing this refinery?
Curious, I approached.

“Excuse me.”

When I casually spoke, the man flinched and turned around.
A man wearing a mask and sunglasses.
He replied in very fluent Korean.

“Yes, yes.”
“Ah, are you a player?”
“Yes… that’s correct.”
“But, haven’t we seen each other somewhere?”

Strange.
Even with the mask and sunglasses, why does he look so familiar?
As I slightly frowned, soon cuckoos appeared in the chat.

It’s Ggeomjeong
It’s Ggeomjeongㅇㅇ
Ggeomjeong UP
ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Today also Ggeomjeong~ news
Teo, don’t you remember?ㅋㅋ When you had your debut stream, he sniped you, calling you a viewbot cheaterㅋㅋ
He sniped a few more times after that too
I thought he’d been quiet latelyㅇㅇ
ㄴㄴㄴ Ggeomjeong was live just nowㅋㅋㅋ He was shaking saying Meteor got Proof of Luck
Is this the same field?
Max two players assigned per field. If two are full, seems they go to another field
Enemies meet on a narrow Abyss path ㄷㄷ

As soon as I saw the chat, my body trembled.

“Oh, are you perhaps Mr. Ggeomjjeong?”
“Ggeom…jeong here.”
“Ah, right. Mr. Ggeomjeong? Nice to meet you. Heh, meeting an industry colleague in a place like this. Is this what they call fate?”

That viewbotting bastard, you son of a bitch!
Well caught.
I smiled brightly and offered my hand.

“Mr. Ggeomjjeong, how many days in are you?”
“Ggeomjeong…”
“Ah, Mr. Ggeomjeong, how many days for you?”
“My 3rd day today.”
“Oh, what’s your highest record?”
“+14… 5 times.”

Actually, Inseop had linked it before, so I’d seen this guy sniping me.
Listening to him talk in the video, I seriously thought Lü Bu was reincarnated.
He diligently trashed me, saying Meteor is a bubble created by the government and Inseop, if you look into it, it’s nothing special.
That continued even until the Korea-Japan match.
He’d been quiet recently, but I guess he was just busy with his own promotion quest?

“You’re amazing.”
“…Thank you.”

But me, Meteor, I’m not that narrow-minded.
In life, people can become viewbotting micro-tubers, snipe others, produce conspiracy theories, and such things, right?
Right? I hold no grudges.
The past is just the past.

“I also have to do Proof of Luck, so considering that, both micro-tube and Abyss, you’re my senior, so I’ll call you Senior Ggeomjeong.”
“Huh?”
“Senior Ggeomjeong. Please feel free to call me Junior Meteor.”
“M-me?”

They say a thief’s conscience pricks him?
That’s exactly what Ggeomjeong looks like now.
Look at him trembling because I suddenly called him senior.

T h e T e o
T h e M e G o d
Kya;; Seeing Meteor’s mercy is also world-classㅋㅋ
Has anyone watched even one Ggeomjeong video?ㅋㅋㅋ He just kept saying Meteor is a bubbleㅋㅋ He really pissed me off
ㄹㅇIf I were Meteor, I’d have thrown a punch at Ggeomjeong’s face right now
Ah;; But Ggeomjeong needs to get beaten up to come to his senses
Among viewbot micro-tubers, he seems to rank about 3rd in dislike
But isn’t he close with Daeho?ㅋㅋㅋ I think he’s one of Daeho’s lackeys

What a coincidence.
He’s connected with Daeho too?
Then I should treat him even better.
I quickly grabbed Ggeomjeong’s hand and smiled brightly.

“Senior. This junior has one request.”
“Ah, yes… Please say it.”

Beside Ggeomjeong’s anvil were piles of what looked like materials.
He seems to have collected a ton, planning to enhance in one go, which I’m thankful for.
Why?

“I don’t really know what materials I need.”
“I can teach you…”
“Senior, what’s good about junior-senior? Like family. The more we can be like family, the better, right?”
“Fa…mily?”
“Family cheering each other on.”
“Cheering, yes.”
“Huh? Sharing materials too.”
“Sharing materials too… Huh?”
“You have a lot of materials.”
“Th-this is what I collected for 7 hours…”
“Wow, Senior. You collected for a whole 7 hours for this latecoming junior? I’ll use it with gratitude. We’re family-like, after all. Right?”

ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
F a m i l y-like relationshipㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Translation) Hand it over if you don’t wanna dieㅋㅋ
Grudge GOAT
ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Ah, so this is how you farm?
Material sharing (one-sided)
T h e M e G o d
Can’t we get Ggeomjeong to take off his sunglasses once? He’s probably crying

“Senior Ggeomjjeong. Please take care of me.”

I have acquired a slave.
Yes, that’s how it is.
As expected, Senior Gima.
You knew this would happen and sent me here?
Sorry for doubting you, GOAT…!

2.

The man using the micro-tube nickname ‘Ggeomjeong’, Kim Cheol-min, looked beside him, sweating cold sweat.
That’s because through the streaming interface, viewers’ chats were rapidly rising.

Teo UP
T h e M e G o d
Is this the famous pushover slave Ggeomjeong’s room?ㅋㅋㅋ
What’s with you guys;; Why are you doing this to our Ggeomjeong;;
If you find Ggeomjeong meeting his assigned bully fun, upvoteㅋㅋ Me firstㅋㅋ
Look at him unable to do anything because he’s guilty
ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Tell Naegeuhoh quicklyㅇㅇ Naegeuhoh is live now, won’t he come to help?
Ggeomjeong-aㅠㅠ It’s the materials we collected for 7 hoursㅜㅜ Are you really giving them to Meteor?
You said you’d win if you fought Meteor;; Show us

‘Madmen.’

Usually, when he went live, he’d have about 300 viewers, but now it was already 2000.
It couldn’t have suddenly algorithm-spiked; the answer was already clear.

‘The Meteor Corps.’

The fandom rapidly expanding its influence online recently.
The so-called Meteor Corps.
A fandom that follows Meteor, and they were absolutely everywhere these days.
A notable characteristic is that they’re all equally vicious, following the micro-tuber they worship.
Those guys had come to his stream where he badmouthed Meteor, so of course they wouldn’t stay quiet.
The chat room was already occupied by the Meteor Corps guys.
There were too many to ban. And with those guys,

‘They’ll obviously charge in with alternate accounts.’

10-year broadcasting career.
Since he’d been broadcasting even before being an Abyss streamer, he knew well how to deal with such situations.
Finish the quest as quickly as possible and escape this place.
That was the only way to get away from those saboteurs.

“Senior. What’s your current enhancement level?”

To the utterly disgusting Meteor’s question, Kim Cheol-min forced a smile and answered.

“+12.”
“Ah, really? How many +15 stacks have you built?”
“5 times.”
“5 times means… 15%. Roughly, with about 7 attempts, there’s a probability of one success. Right?”

This is actually an opportunity.
If he could just make +15, he could deal a blow to that disgusting bastard.
Making Meteor lose face in front of over ten thousand viewers?
Nothing would be more thrilling.

‘I could upload the video later too.’

Uploading a video titled <Flattening the Rising Streamer’s Nose (Feat. Meteor)>, the views would be a given.
Therefore, Kim Cheol-min decided to focus on his own pace.
So he quietly placed the materials on the anvil.
The Angel’s Sword and the enhancement material <Lucky Grinding Stone>.
The enhancement process is simple.
Place the grinding stone on the sword, then strike with the provided basic hammer.

“Wow, Senior. Are you enhancing now? I’ll watch carefully.”
“…Yes.”

After taking a deep breath, he swung the hammer down.
Then,

CLAAANG-!

[You have successfully enhanced <Angel’s Sword +13>!]

“Phew.”
“Oh, Senior. Enhancement successful.”
“Ah… yes.”
“Let’s go straight away! +14! Yeong! Cha! Yeong! Cha! Yeong! Cha!”

There’s one thing he felt after rotting in this smithy for 3 days.
Enhancement is about flow.
You have to go all-in consecutively during the lucky streak.

‘Let’s aim for +15 first.’

Kim Cheol-min took another deep breath and placed another grinding stone on the sword.
The success rate for +14 is 30%.
A pretty decent rate.

CLAAANG-!

The moment he swung the hammer, riding the flow,

ZZZzzzzzt-!

Along with an ominous sound,

[You have failed to enhance <Angel’s Sword +14>…]
[Damn it! <Angel’s Sword> has been destroyed and its enhancement level has been reset!]
[An angel, pitying you, restored the sword to +1.]

“You fucking son of aaaaaa Bitch!”

It breaks like this?
This?

“Ah, did it break?”
“…Yes.”
“It’s okay. Nice try. It was cool, Senior. Nice try.”

Nice try, BSㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Nice try~
Nice shotㅋㅋ
Boom boom boom boom boom boom
Serves you rightㅋ Serves you rightㅋ Serves you rightㅋ Serves you rightㅋ Serves you rightㅋ Serves you rightㅋ Serves you rightㅋ
As expected, cheering is up to Meteor;;
Meteor really is a magnanimous person;

Swearing would be less insulting.
Look at that expression.
Mouth encouraging, but the corners of his lips are raised.
That’s definitely mockery.
But because he was guilty, he couldn’t do anything. He could only tremble and swallow his anger.

“Senior. Can I give it a try then?”
“Go… ahead.”
“Thank you. I’ll use some materials?”
“…Ah.”
“Thank you for your permission.”

Meteor blatantly and shamelessly plundered the materials.

‘Stay calm.’

It’s just one failure.
Anyway, Meteor just entered this place.
He might look relaxed now, but as time passes, his expression will rot just like his own.
Proof of Luck is practically Proof of Patience.

‘What’s important is an unbreakable spirit.’

As Kim Cheol-min recalled a certain pro-gamer’s famous quote and was about to grab the hammer again,

BANG-! BANG-! BANG-! BANG-! BANG-! BANG-! BANG-!

Meteor attempted enhancement 8 times in a row.
The result?