“Why is it dexterity?”

The number of stats that points could be invested in was limited to the four main stats. Strength, stamina, agility, and intelligence. It was the same with the elixirs. The elixirs only raised four stats. Then why did dexterity go up?

The random elixirs were different from normal elixirs. Grid took around two minutes to realize this.

“I can think of it as an elixir to raise special stats.”

The special stats Grid currently had were dexterity, persistence, composure, indomitable, dignity, insight, courage, political power, demonic power, luck, and deity.

‘Of course, the probability of the deity stat rising is 0%.’

Deity was a myth grade stat that only grew when a certain person or force deified Grid and gave him room to become a myth. It wasn’t logical to expect that the random elixir would raise the deity stat.

‘Then this means the remaining 10 stats can rise.’

This wasn’t good though. The probability of a special condition of the stat being activated was low. The resistance to status conditions given by the composure stat was low compared to the complete status resistance of a legendary class. An unreliable stat like indomitable that had a chance of invalidating damage wasn’t something the unlucky Grid should lean on.

The dignity stat was already sufficient thanks to the Overgeared King’s crown, and the effect of the insight stat to detect the behavior of the target had long been known to have a definite upper limit. What about dexterity? It was a stat that naturally went up during the item making process. From Grid’s point of view, it was the easiest stat to raise, since his current dexterity was 3,967+880. It was close to 5,000. There was nothing he desired.

‘I can easily raise persistence, not to mention demonic power. Demonic power is completely ridiculous. Additionally, the stats like political power, courage and...’

Political power was an indispensable stat for the king of a kingdom because it sped up domestic development. If the king’s political power was high, the nation’s overall domestic development rate would increase. There was also courage. Courage was better than nothing. Every one point in courage raised attack power and defense by 0.1. It was very shabby compared to the third awakening strength stat, which increased attack power by 0.6 or stamina which increased defense by 0.9.

Finally...

‘...Good luck.’

Good luck was the statistic that increased the probability of a beneficial effect. It was useful in all fields such as item making, enhancement, hunting, and raids. For the unlucky Grid, good luck was the stat that he was most desperate for. Good luck was a special stat that didn’t increase with the title effects, so he was confident that its value would shine as it increased.

“Okay...” 

Grid held the remaining two elixirs and prayed earnestly, ‘Please raise good luck. If it isn’t good luck, political power or courage will be fine. Please don’t let it be demonic power or dexterity.’

“Go!”

Had there ever been another day when he was so nervous? Grid gulped before swallowing an elixir. The result was amazing.

[The random elixir effect has increased dexterity by 10 points.]

[The random elixir effect has increased dexterity by 10 points.]

“...” It was cruel and irrational to expect anything from his luck. Grid couldn’t cope with the result and hugged his knees. “...Should I quit the game?”

“Nyang?”

“No, I can’t even joke about this.” Grid stroked the fur of Noe who was lying on his shoulders. The sky was exceptionally clear today like it was making fun of him. It was a pleasant experience for Noe who was lying down next to Grid. He leaned over and rubbed his face against Grid’s chest.

“Sometimes, this isn’t too bad.”

How long had Grid been resting? Then it happened while Grid was enjoying his spare time with Noe.

“Grid!” A group of people approached Grid. They were the blacksmiths who had just returned from Pangea.

“You came back safely.”

“Grid, didn’t you clear the quest? You should’ve noticed the notification window.”

“Um...” Grid had a bittersweet smile on his face as he looked at the blacksmiths. There were 77 people. With the exception of the 23 people who died, these blacksmiths had returned to the West Continent one step ahead of being killed by Garam. Grid felt responsible for what happened. It was due to his unreasonable judgment that the blacksmiths had experienced a crisis and felt fearful throughout their quests. In the end, some people were sacrificed.

‘They got caught up in the quest because of me...’

Did they see Grid’s regretful expression?

“All the blacksmiths who arrived in the West Continent one step faster than us are in a festive atmosphere. Didn’t we gain many rewards thanks to Grid?”

“It isn’t the time to worry about the dead. What is wrong with losing a level and a bit of dexterity? We get to sit on a cushion of money.”

“We have discussed it together. We think it is better to sell the blessed enhancement stones to the Overgeared members. It is uncomfortable to sell the precious items outside the kingdom. Since it is a reward we got from Grid in the first place, we should sell it to the Overgeared members at a cheap price.”

It was great news to hear. Grid appreciated the hearts of the blacksmiths, but there was still something he had to handle before that. 

“Please sell it to me before handing it over to the members.”

“Huh? No, of course. Actually, no, I won’t accept any money from Grid for it. Just take half of it,” the blacksmiths suggested. However, Grid politely declined. He didn’t want to monopolize the items. Instead, he wanted the development of the entire kingdom. Grid wanted to maintain the blacksmiths’ motivation by paying a fair price for purchased goods. He also wanted them to like him even more.

As expected, the blacksmiths were thrilled. They gained even more respect for Grid as he maintained his humble attitude until the end.

‘It is like he isn’t a king.’

‘This is the reason why so many rankers serve Grid.’

‘Even Katz acts politely to Grid...’

The blacksmiths’ respect and liking toward Grid started to boil over like water in a pot. They shouted at Grid, “Please take these elixirs!”

“Elixirs?”

“Yes. As you know, we are ordinary blacksmiths. The only necessary stats for us are stamina, dexterity, and persistence. Isn’t this elixir random? It is highly unlikely to get the stats we want, so this is just like a luxury.”

Grid replied honestly, “This is a random elixir and can actually raise dexterity. I just drank it and raised dexterity.” 

“Haha... Saying that to us...”

“No, it really raises dexterity.”

“You don’t have to concede this much.”

“That’s right, Grid. No matter how I think about it, the elixirs are a luxury. I think it is better for Grid to use the elixirs, no matter how much we can gain.”

“...”

In fact, their words were true. It was an extravagant luxury for ordinary blacksmiths, who only had a small amount of stamina and strength, to take the random elixirs. However, elixirs usually sold for more than 200 million won. Katz was a chaebol, and it was rumored that he steadily purchased dozens of elixirs over the past three years for 300 million won per elixir. It was a burden to buy 231 elixirs, even for Grid. If he calculated it at the cheap price of 200 million won, it was 46.2 billion. It was impossible for anyone except a chaebol to cope with that much expenditure.

For an elixir that might raise dexterity...? It was doubtful if it was worth 200 million won. While Grid was hesitating, the blacksmiths said some unexpected words, “We’re saying for you to literally take them. We aren’t trying to sell them. We will give you the elixirs, so please use them.”

“What does that...”

Grid knew better than anyone as to the value of this material. Yet they were just giving him items that were worth billions? Grid couldn’t understand the attitude of the blacksmiths. However, the blacksmiths thought differently. “They are items that we wouldn’t have received without Grid. We have already made a lot of money thanks to the unique item production method and enhancement stones. It is really burdensome for us to be greedier.”

“It is also a type of bribe. Who knows what we will receive from giving the elixirs to Grid today? Later, Grid will take care of us again.”

“That’s right. Grid, if you have a production method that you don’t need... Huhu! It is better for us.”

It was true. The high rated production methods that Grid held could be of great value to them. Grid struggled for a while before accepting the favor, “Okay. I am grateful and will surely repay you.”

“We are the grateful ones. We will make sure we can be of help to Grid someday.”

The 100 blacksmiths who had gone on a short adventure with Grid—they were new loyalists who admired Grid’s ability. Grid’s reputation spread through the smithy district.

***

Duguen! Duguen! Duguen!

He left the blacksmiths. After returning to the castle, he whispered his love to Irene, received a job report from Lauel, kissed the sleeping Lord’s forehead and then sat alone in his office. There were a huge 231 elixirs on the desk. The iridescent liquid in the transparent bottles was more fearful than beautiful. Grid’s body shook. His back was drenched with sweat.

‘Imagine if I drink all of it and only dexterity and demonic power rise.’

He couldn’t avoid feeling afraid. In any case, he had gotten the elixirs for free, so any increase in stats was a win. Grid controlled his heart and barely let go of his expectations. He vowed to humbly accept it even if the 231 elixirs raised his dexterity. Then...

[The random elixir effect has increased dexterity by 10 points.]

[The random elixir effect has increased dexterity by 10 points.]

[The random elixir effect has increased courage by 10 points.]

[The random elixir effect has increased agility by 10 points.]

[The random elixir effect has increased indomitable by 10 points.]

[The random elixir effect has increased dexterity by 10 points.]

[The random elixir effect has increased courage by 10 points.]

[The random elixir effect has increased good luck by 10 points.]

[The random elixir effect has increased political power by 10 points.]

[....]

[....]

Grid’s expression brightened every time he took a bitter elixir. There was a fortunate thing. The elixirs didn’t affect demonic power. On the other hand, the agility and good luck Grid desperately wanted went up many times.

Gulp.

“Kuuock!”

It happened when he drank over 150 elixir bottles. Grid grabbed his bloated stomach as an unexpected notification window appeared.

[Your courage stat has reached 1,200 points. The effect of the courage stat has increased. Every one point in courage raised attack power and defense by 0.2.]

[Your good luck stat has reached 400 points. The chances of a beneficial effect will greatly increase.]

Courage and good luck were enhanced! Grid felt stronger and quickly drank the remaining elixirs. He wanted to determine if the enhanced effect of good luck was just a false perception.

[The random elixir effect has increased strength by 10 points.]

[The random elixir effect has increased intelligence by 10 points.]

[The random elixir effect has increased dexterity by 10 points.]

[The random elixir effect has increased good luck by 10 points.]

[The random elixir effect has increased good luck by 10 points.]

“Good!” Grid cheered after drinking 50 elixirs in a row. He felt a tremendous increase in the beneficial effects. Once he drank all the remaining elixirs, his good luck stat had reached as high as 631 points. Feeling that lady luck was smiling on him, Grid didn’t want to miss this chance. 

He pulled out the hundreds of blessed enhancement stones from his inventory. Grid wished he could take out the two remaining Ancient Weapon Enhancement Scrolls and four Ancient Armor Enhancement Scrolls and use them on the +1 Enlightenment Sword and Valhalla of Infinite Affection.

“Reach +2! +2! +2! +2! I just want +2!” 

The excited Grid used the blessed enhancement stones on the +1 Enlightenment Sword.

[The item enhancement has failed.]

This notification window flashed 30 times, but Grid wasn’t shaken. It would be hilarious if he were shaken by 30 enhancement failures when he was aware that the enhancement rate of myth rated items was extremely bad.

[The item enhancement has failed.]

[The item enhancement has failed.]

Still, wasn’t 50 consecutive failures too much? Grid’s face gradually turned gray. However, lady luck was still smiling at him.

[The item enhancement has failed.]

[The item enhancement has succeeded.]

[The +1 Lightning Sword Born from Enlightenment and Strong Desires has been successfully enhanced, and the enhancement level has increased to +2!]

[The item enhancement has succeeded.]

[The +2 Lightning Sword Born from Enlightenment and Strong Desires has been successfully enhanced, and the enhancement level has increased to +3!]

[The +3 Lightning Sword Born from Enlightenment and Strong Desires has been successfully enhanced, and the enhancement level has increased to +4!]

[The item enhancement has failed.]

“Uh...? Three in a row...?”

This was really an X probability game. Content that was based on luck gave deep despair to most people. They clung to these contents because the joy and value of success were great.

[You are the first player to succeed in enhancing a myth rated item to +3!]

[The perk has increased the damage of the target item by 1%.]

[You are the first player to succeed in enhancing a myth rated item to +4!]

[The perk has increased the damage of the target item by 2%, resulting in a ‘setting sun’ effect.]

“...”

It looked like it was glowing. The +4 Enlightenment Sword glowed orange, and it was enough to make Grid lose his soul. Grid stared blankly at the sword for a while before using his remaining weapon and armor enhancement stones. The Enlightenment Sword stopped at +4 while Valhalla of Infinite Affection became +3.

[+4 Lightning Sword Born from Enlightenment and Strong Desires

Attack: 4,611]

[+3 Valhalla of Infinite Affection

Defense: 1,622]

“Haha!”

Grid felt several times stronger. He could feel power boiling inside him.