--PoV, Izabelle

-10 minutes before the meeting.

Doing nothing in my office, I started digging for information about our new recruit, “Archillies”.

Still at a young age, but enough to register as an adventurer, not even 5 minutes later and he angered Grovan.

Grovan, nicknamed the Iron Fist, or by others as the Troublemaker, the boy stood up to him, and withstanded the full force of the bloodlust head-on.

Later that day, reports about a boy with black hair and gray eyes defeating the Adamantine Arm with a low ranked magic hand, with other rumors circulating that he is a noble as was first seen coming out of the King’s Castle.

Any other information is unknown, no birthplace, no relatives, and certainly no friends, seeing as he was alone the entire time.

The door knocked, interrupting my work, but since I had no other leads, I let them enter.

“Excuse me, Guildmaster, the E rank, Archillies Duane has requested for you.”

Hmm?

“That Archillies?”

“Yes ma’am, same features and the card shows such.”

I quickly stand up, having curiosity take over me, I let her lead me towards the VIP room, where he is waiting..

…

-Back to the present

-Archillies POV.

Currently, we are going towards the back of the building, to get ready to fight.

The area is the Training Grounds, enchanted by skilled magicians to avoid the need for constant reconstruction, it has become the ideal place to fight freely.

With white, lime lines, each dueling space was separated, with ⅗ being currently inuse.

Feeling curious gazes all around me, people started murmuring amongst themselves, and others who were dueling stopped to see what is happening.

Once we reached a vacant fighting space, we both went to the other sides, then she shouted.

“I, Isabelle the Sword Queen, challenge you, Archillies Duane to a duel.”

That was longer than expected, I thought as the text notifying me of the duel request popped up.

“I accept.”

Then out of the blue, yellow light surrounded us for a few seconds, then dissipated later.

“Do you need me to explain how a duel works?”

“No, I did my research.”

Once a duel starts, there are only two ways of winning.

Firstly, if the opponent surrenders, you win.

Secondly, if the opponent is knocked unconscious or injured enough, a barrier made by the system will be made, preventing any attacks-in-making from reaching each other.

What is the System, you ask.

The System is what controls the menus and such, so if a person is worthy enough, it grants them an ability or stats, while maintaining balance.

Of course, Irregularities such as me still exist, but they are incredibly rare.

Getting my battle stance ready, I told the hands to go outside the arena, since the robe she is wearing has magic nullifiers.

Taking out my recently bought spiky knuckledusters, which I enchanted beforehand, I get ready and make sure my enchanted silk gloves are set in place.

3…

2..

1.

FIGHT!

The System screamed in my head, and we both dashed at each other.

Suddenly, tripping on seemingly nothing, a ring came in my ear, notifying me of Absolute Luck activating, I took the advantage and increased my speed, and tried to punch her directly in the face.

In this world, luck has many shapes.

For some, they have a LUK stat and an ability, while for others, they have one, if not any of them.

Unlucky Ones, as they are called, have an ability called ‘Bad Luck’, or even worse types depending on the person.

The LUK stat affects the ability’s chance of activating, while increasing the chance for ‘Critical Hits’.

If a critical hit is achieved, the opponent’s defenses are ignored, and the attack’s strength increases by 300%.

Things such as ‘Lucky Encounters’ or finding helpful objects seemingly out of nowhere are the responsibilities of the ‘Luck’ abilities.

Many people also do not forget that higher LUK increases the chance of a rare item dropping from a monster, or the most well-known advantage..

Treasure chests.

Treasure Chests give out items depending on the person’s LUK, so there are many instances where people form parties with at least one ‘Lucky Person’.

Wait, I forgot one important use of the Luck Abilities.

Casinos.

Yep, those with a good luck ability always tries it at the casinos, hoping to hit jackpot.

I wanted to try it yesterday, but I had to work on enchanting my equipment, since it is a lengthy session.

Back to the matter at hand.

Just as my fist was going to hit her, a white, nearly invisible barrier stopped my fist while making off a dull sound.

The sudden halt gave me a backlash, hurting my body, but I remedied it quickly with a ‘Heal’.

She stood there, confused, as a pop up came to light.

“Winner : Archillies Duane.”

While staring at the pop up with dot-like eyes, I glanced at her to try and gauge her reaction, but she did the same.

-Ding!

“For beating the Sword Queen in a duel, you have advanced to SS rank.”

-Ding!

“You have leveled up x45”

-Ding!

“For reaching level 100, you have gained a class ability : Summon Object”

“Summon object : The ability to summon objects from another world, mana usage varies with the size and number.”

…

That was terribly anti-climactic, wasn’t it?

I thought, as the Sword Queen glared at me, with a red, pouting face, with a hint of anger and embarrassment.

…