Rob raised both of his hands and grabbed at his luck, now in the form of a red leather-bound notebook floating on top of a mysterious circle glowing brightly in an array of colors. It was large and mystical, representing his powerful luck.
With a twist of his hand, two strands of golden threads appeared into view, and he touched one of the threads with squinted eyes. From the tip of his finger, a mysterious power erupted with intense golden light, causing the thin thread to turn thicker and denser, strengthening his luck connection with Annabeth Auburn, and allowing his luck to grow and grow!
10-A, 20-A, 30-A, 40-A…
His luck continuously rose at unprecedented speeds as he exerted the terrifying ability of Fortune Stealer.
If I can’t have it for myself, then we might as well share!
Rob’s eyes glimmered with joy as his luck finally broke past A Rank, and reached a level that almost made him laugh loudly in joy.
S Rank! He finally has S Rank luck!
Okay… Rob clapped his hands together and stood up from his bed to walk toward his desk. On top of his desk, there were plenty of paper and pens stored inside their own neat containers, and he went to grab some paper along with a pen.
He then grabbed the bag full of alchemical ingredients and sat down on the ground with a grin. As he waited for the ink to carefully gather at the tip of his pen, he grabbed one piece of paper while flipping open the red leather-bound notebook at the side.
Rob stopped at a certain page, moved his gaze to the paper, and finally grabbed his pen. He took a deep breath and focused his mind.
The tip of the pen was carefully placed down on the paper, creating a small blotch of darkness to destroy the paper’s pristine pureness, while he also infused his mana through the pen and into the ink. He dragged the pen along the paper, creating a simple circle, then he slowly drew more details within the circle to create a simple yet strange magic circle
While it was indeed a magic circle, its fundamental principles would cause one to doubt if it were an actual, functional magic circle. And to that, Rob would laugh, because this circle right in front of him is the product of alchemy that has reached the pinnacle of the entire world of Tyr!
It’s an Alchemy Circle!
Rob grabbed a stack of paper beside him and placed the container of ink into the middle of the strange circle. After that, he scattered the stack of paper into separate pieces, and he was finally done with his preparations.
He extended his index finger and tapped the alchemy circle on the ground ahead of him. From his incomplete Mana Heart, traces of mana flowed through his veins and out from the tip of his finger, and into the magically inlaid circle made out of mana-infused ink.
Zwoom!
A low hum could be heard from the alchemy circle as it began to release a dim blue light. The ink within the container started to wobble and shake, while the pieces of paper neatly laid out in a straight line moved for a bit before stagnating like still statues made of stone.
The ink from the paper floated into the air, and divided into separate streams. They then landed on the pieces of paper in front of Rob, and he methodically wielded the ink to form new alchemy circles on the ground ahead of him.
Without an Alchemist’s Soul and an Alchemist’s Heart, I’ll have to rely on this painstaking method of creating different circles for different alchemy. For example, the one I created just now can do alchemy related to ink, which is one of the earliest alchemy circles Oscar Vane designed before he conceptualized the soul and body solution.
Rob breathed out a sigh of relief when he finally finished inscribing the last alchemy circle and wiped the sweat on his forehead. He then carefully gathered the newly made alchemy circles, put the previous alchemy circle along with the stack, took out a new one, and placed it on the ground in front of him.
He grabbed a handful of herbs from the bag of alchemical materials and scattered them on top of the alchemy circle. He also took out a potion bottle and placed it in the middle of the circle.
Then, he did the same as before. He allowed his mana to flow into the alchemy circle, and like magic, various herbs and plants floated to the air, twisting and turning as if being pressed down from all sides by a strong force. From their compressed bodies, liquid extract was carefully pulled out and gathered into different colorful blobs in the air.
After that, the blobs of colorful extracts landed inside the potion bottle, mixing and fusing into a colorless liquid with unknown effects.
It appeared simple, but based on the normal recipe Oscar had used before conceptualizing and creating alchemy magic, it would have taken him at leaste more than ten minutes to create this potion - if he had the skill to do so in the first place, along with the right equipment which would cost a large fortune.
Now, in less than a minute, and using only nothing but ink and his mana, he managed to create a potion. But that doesn’t mean one can replicate the same thing Rob had done just now.
First of all, creating multiple alchemy circles at the same time requires a lot of multitasking, while manipulating the materials means one needs to have a deep understanding of its properties, nature, and structure. There is also the problem of controlling the material with high precision.
Even though that is the case, any decent alchemist can shave down their time to minutes rather than hours! Normal alchemy already requires one to have a deep understanding of the materials they’re handling, so if he were to spread this knowledge around, he’ll revolutionize the entire world of alchemy!
But why should I? Rob grinned as he finished concocting his potion. He then grabbed it, placed a seal on its hole, and swirled it around in his hand. This is my Opportunity! This is my goddamn golden finger!
Only I would have this cheat!
Rob laughed and put his bag of alchemical materials under his desk, grabbed his stack of alchemy circles placed on paper, then walked out of his bedroom and down the stairs.
The moment he arrived inside their living room, he can see that both of his parents were watching on their Magi-TV.
Hmm, they must’ve finished the majority of the paperwork already! Good! This would mean my funds would increase once I start doing alchemy seriously.
Rob walked to their door, turned around, and shouted, “Mama! Papa! I’m heading out for a bit. You guys can eat dinner without me!”
“Why are you going out this late?” Herve shouted, worried, but also too lazy to actually care that much.
“I have to buy something!” Rob responded back while putting on his shoes.
“Just be safe out there! Make sure to beat up any thieves if they try to steal from you!” Vivia yawned and arched her back to ease her back pain.
“Okay!” he shouted back.
Rob then put on his shoes, opened the door, and walked out into the lively nightlife of the Royal Capital. It was similar to a bustling city in a decently advanced society, with bright lights shining out of the windows, the streetlights, and from the tall buildings scattered all throughout.
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He then arrived at a nearby stall that sold meat skewers, and bought a handful of them, while using Luck Divination.
In the area ahead of him, a golden arrow formed that lead to the place where he can gain the most benefits, and with his incredibly high luck at the same level as those of emperors and of royal lineage, Rob followed the arrow as he munched on the juicy piece of meat inside his mouth.
He walked for a while, following the arrow as it turned a bit from time to time, but still leading to the same place that would solve his problem. Souls were a hard thing to acquire discreetly, especially in a magically advanced society as this. Divinations, soul magic, and many more could eventually lead an investigator to him if he did a crime.
Rob really didn’t have a solution to acquiring a soul, well he did, but that would require him finding a suicidal individual - two, in fact, but the first one is more important, because he needs someone who is on the verge of actually committing suicide but not quite.
As he was enjoying his unhealthy dinner, he noticed the arrow take a sudden turn after passing by a dark alleyway, which swiftly caught his attention. He took a few steps back, looked to the side, and inside the darkness, he found a young girl all shriveled up like a shrimp.
He approached the dark alleyway as his eyes were enhanced in mana, allowing him to see clearer in the dark and acquire partial night vision. With it, he could see the condition of the girl much clearer than before.
She wore ragged clothes and had dirt and bruises all over her exposed skin. Her hair was messy and, based on his observation, he could tell that she was experiencing some domestic abuse, maybe from her parents or her lover.
Rob didn’t care that much and was instead more surprised by her absurd bad luck. It was big, at the level of A Rank bad luck. It had the form of two shadowy figures, one being a woman, and the other being a man. They had twisted smiles and malicious eyes.
Bad Luck was, as its name implies, was the level of one’s own bad luck. Luck and bad luck are two sides of the same coin, and if Rob had to quantify his luck before, it must have reached multitudes of S Rank Bad Luck and it only continued to rise the bigger of a target he became to the infinite realities that existed.
There was even a period of time when I had bad luck that was on the same level as a Reality’s Chosen’s luck. Bad times, bad times indeed.
But, this could be quite the Opportunity… Rob’s eyes shone as an idea cropped into his head.
“I want to die, I want to die,” she sobbed as her bad luck suddenly rose the closer Rob got.
Damn bitch, you don’t want my miracle?! Rob inwardly complained while secretly happy upon hearing her suicidal thoughts. Heh, don’t worry, don’t worry! Soon, you’ll be experiencing an opportunity of a lifetime!
Fortune Stealer!
A flash of golden light erupted out of her body as Rob stole a huge portion of her suicidal thoughts, stored it, and stared at the girl with a mysterious grin. He wasn’t finished yet, not until his little experiment is done.
Luck comes in all forms. Some are short, burning brightly like fire and ending at their brightest moments. Some are stable like wood, with a consistent flow of good luck. With Fortune Stealer, I can modify the luck of others with relative ease, creating stability or instability with a mere thought.
And - bad luck is still luck!
Rob neared closer and closer to the girl, with malicious thoughts bubbling inside his head. The girl’s luck stirred upon sensing the great evil coming her way, darkening and shifting as it transformed into a black coffin that represented death.
This was Rob suppressing her luck even further, using his absurdly high luck to reduce the luck of others, or even dominate their luck entirely and turn it into bad luck! This was one of the main reasons Rob had such absurdly bad luck back on his road to supremacy. It’s because he had to face numerous Reality’s Chosen, beings with innately high luck chosen by their respective realities, blessed with the luck of heaven and earth.
And now, Rob was conducting a short and easy experiment to test these phenomena himself. He observed that his incredibly stable luck only dimmed by the tiniest of bits, while her bad luck surged to 35-A.
Hmm, so this is the limit of her bad luck. Hehehe, you’re truly lucky to have such insanely bad luck. Now, let’s twist your fate, you unlucky lass!
Rob walked out from the shadows and squatted down in front of the girl, his face covered by the darkness.
He spoke in a hoarse voice, and whispered to her ear, “Remember this favor, girl.”
“E-Eh?” She looked up in confusion but was almost blinded by the flash of golden light that appeared from the darkness. She closed her eyes and was at a loss, confused and scared of the mysterious person that appeared from nowhere.
By the time she opened her eyes, the unknown person was gone, leaving her all alone in the darkness, but her dazed thoughts turned clearer as she remembered something important.
“Oh no, it’s already late. Mom and dad would get angry at me if this happened!” The girl stood up in a hurry, grunting in slight pain, and walked out of the dark alleyway, revealing her surprisingly beautiful face. She had long black hair, crimson-red eyes, and skin covered in dirt and bruises.
She tried to walk as fast as she can, with the people around her looking at her figure with slight worry, but no one had enough pity to try and help her. And she was fine with that, she was used to those pitiful gazes, along with their lack of actual help.
As she neared closer and closer to their house, she slowly noticed the people in the distance running away in a hurry, along with a trail of smoke rising into the sky. Mages wearing their unique robes ran toward the source of the smoke in a hurry, wielding their staffs and wands.
A fire? A trace of hope appeared in her eyes as she imagined both of her parents burning inside that flame, but she threw that ridiculous thought away. There’s no way I’ll be that lucky.
She treaded forward with grunts and squinted eyes, but the closer she got to the source of the smoke, the more the light in her eyes shined brightly.
There’s no way, right? But… It’s so close to where our house is…
Unknowingly, she started to ignore the pain she felt all throughout her body to arrive at the flames faster. She was beginning to grow desperate to know what was actually burning. She wanted to be hopeful, yet she didn’t want to face the pain of disappointment.
As her thoughts clashed in chaos, she was met with a large crowd that obstructed her view, but the bright flame in the distance, and the burning building, caused a strange emotion to bloom inside her heart.
She walked faster, stronger, with each step sounding like the loud bangs of a drum in her ears. Every beat of her heart roared louder and louder as adrenaline coursed through her veins.
Please, please, please! PLEASE!
She pleaded desperately to whatever source of hope she had in her heart. She broke through the crowd with difficulty, her bruises and wounds didn’t stop her in the slightest. It was a world of pain, with her eyes wincing and squinting, but the adrenaline coursing through her veins allowed her to ignore all of it and keep pushing forward.
She had to see it. She had to know what it was. She prayed to the gods, to whatever higher power, to whatever source of hope she could muster - that this was the thing she had been waiting for in her entire life.
And then… she finally saw it.
It was a bright flame that illuminated the darkness ahead of her. It was a burning building that created a pillar of flames and a cloud of smoke to overturn heaven and earth. Mages desperately used Water Magic to deal with the flames in a futile attempt to quell the fire, wind mages hurriedly pulled the oxygen out of the burning house to starve the fire, while earth mages erected walls to protect the nearby civilians and stop them from approaching the fire closer.
She stood there, basking in the warm orange light. It was… beautiful.
Her entire body trembled in strange, bizarre emotions. Her breathing turned rough as her face flushed red. Joy? Surprise? Hope? Liberation?
It was a catharsis of emotions, emotions that she couldn’t even begin to describe.
“Thank you…,” she muttered weakly as tears dripped down her face. “Thank you, oh kind stranger… Thank you.”
As she cried in joy, Rob, who was just behind her, stared at her luck in a daze.
It was bright like the dazzling sun and ominously had the appearance of a crimson clock. The hands of the clock ticked with every passing second, pulsating with a crimson light, glowing brighter and brighter the more the fire burned.
S Rank… S RANK LUCK?!
No… This is actually plausible. She had extreme misfortune, so this is the fortune after misfortune. Not only that, she received her Opportunity, me, which also boosted her luck in the process. Now, her second Opportunity arrived, which is the death of the source of her bad luck, her family.
This… S Rank Luck is just too absurd!
Rob stared down at the two vials he held in his hand, two vials which had two wailing souls inside. They were the souls of the victims of the fire, the parents of the girl he had just saved.
Is this Karma? Or it’s just another part of the mystical concept of luck? Maybe I should have given myself more knowledge in luck before this, but this is what makes life exciting! If I unsealed all of my knowledge, then that would simply make this journey too easy!
Oh well, it seems that this girl would grow to be someone pretty powerful in a couple of years. Maybe I can benefit from that later on.
With a final glance at the bright flames and the joyful girl, Rob turned around and walked back home, now acquiring all of the ingredients he needed through an unexpected method.
I planned on transferring the thoughts of suicide to someone who wanted to die, which would finally spur them on to actually do it, and steal their soul right before they die using Fortune Stealer, but instead, I acquired two souls without even having to sacrifice my luck to steal someone else’s soul! Rob shook his head with an amused smile. He really didn’t expect this to happen at all, leaving him dumbfounded and bewildered with the end result, but also ecstatic at the bountiful loot he had acquired.
Sigh, I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, I love being a lucky bastard!