Rob stood in front of a large magical board made out of smooth stone similar to white jade. At a casual glance, he could pick out numerous magical signatures coming from all over the board, signifying the arrangements placed on this seemingly normal board.
This was the mystical School Board of the Royal Academy, a place where students can put down anything they want, ranging from news to job postings! And with its magical nature, it can store up to an endless amount of notices, both physical and magical.
He took a step back and eyed the plain white paper he plastered near the middle of the physical borders of the board. On the plain white paper, the words Looking for a Botanist regardless of experience. Willing to sign a contract for an extended supply of plants and herbs for alchemy was written in plain text. Compared to other fancier notices placed on the school’s Board, his appeared less eye-catching, but Rob didn’t care much about any fancy clickbait. Rather, he’d believe in the mystical power of his luck, once his most treacherous enemy, now his greatest ally.
A normal person’s luck is around D Rank, and each rank higher was a hundred times stronger. He had S Rank Luck, which meant when compared to a normal person, he was a hundred million times luckier!
100,000,000 times! The amount of zeroes to his quantified luck was simply absurd! And that’s only when he has normal luck that hadn’t been modified to give him the most benefits. Rob inwardly sighed in slight awe at the rapid progress he has made. After nearly a month, his luck had gone from C Rank to S Rank, luck that was just a level below a World’s Chosen.
But, the difference between S Rank luck and the luck of being a World’s Chosen is simply too large. First of all, being a World’s Chosen meant one had the favor of the entire world. It’s akin to being the son of heaven and earth!
It wasn’t just a simple one hundred times multiplier, nay! A World’s Chosen’s luck is the luck of the world, the world’s fortune! They act as protectors, guardians, and the bringer of prosperity and growth to the world. They’re usually people who stand at the peak of the world, with unrivaled strength that can push the upper limits of their home planet.
So, to have luck rivaling a World’s Chosen, it meant that Rob has to have luck rivaling an entire world - or a big fraction of it. Obviously, this would be hard to quantify as different worlds have different foundations, but even on a small world, there would at least be over a hundred S Rank luck stemming from organisms to places like mountains and seas. That doesn’t mention the billions of other living beings that thrive within the world, ranging from its apex predators to the various natural habitats that each have their own form of luck.
So, at the very least, a small world would have… 1000-S Luck.
And this world is a Large World! It would have at least 100,000-S luck. Haha… Whoever becomes the World’s Chosen in Tyr would just be insanely lucky. To be blessed by heaven and earth with such immense luck, and this is just a Large World!
There are still galaxies and universes, multiverses, and realities. The luck of a Reality’s Chosen is something to truly be envious of! Rob shook his head and turned around, wearing a confident smile full of unwavering will. I have Fortune Stealer! My own personal cheat, the culmination of all my hard work after breaking free from my unfortunate fate and ascending to the supreme throne!
Rob was a man full of envy, even when he had ascended to become a Supreme Existence, he had never let go of his jealousy toward the other supreme beings. It was irritating just how lucky they were, with how smooth sailing their journeys have been.
They didn’t face the onslaught of multiple Higher Existences, they didn’t get schemed against by Buddha, God, Odin, and even fucking Satan! He lived in constant darkness, growing his strength through a series of hardships that forged him into the person he was today.
He wanted to experience that too. He wanted to live a life that was so insanely lucky that others would shed blood at how lucky he was. And now, he was living the dream!
Rob smiled and soon walked away from the board to head back to class. If luck bids it, then his needs would be fulfilled in due time…
And, like responding to the call of fate, a young girl with bright blue eyes and hair of flowing gold came to a halt in her steps. She took a few steps back, backing till the stopped at the strange board placed on the nearby wall, with a large notice that seemingly called out to her. Its design was simple, so plain, but the contents it held brought a strange beat to her heart.
“Looking for a botanist regardless of experience…,” she read, her breathing turning rough and hasty. Her eyes shone brightly in dazzling stars as she murmured, “A contract… That means I’ll get to earn… money? No way, right?” she looked around the empty hallway with an erratic heart. “Regardless of experience? So, I’m still fit for the job, right? I helped Mama and Papa back at the form, and I’ve read tons of books about plants all my life, so even if I’m not an official Botanist, maybe they’ll understand?”
“Do I go?” she mumbled as she felt conflicted emotions. She wasn’t a real Botanist, but the girl believed she had the capabilities to be one given enough practice.
Do I take this chance? If I get paid, then maybe I’ll be able to help Mama and Papa out on the farm. I can send them money so that they don’t have to work so hard!
The girl clenched her fist as she grabbed the notice with gritted teeth and a burning soul, now was not the time to doubt but to believe! If she fails, then that’s that, but if it turns out to be something good… “Well, there’s no harm in trying!”
…
“How lucky…” Rob grinned.
He was currently walking through an open field covered in grass, with trees here and there acting as natural shading to the wandering students. In the far distance, a shadowy building loomed the horizon, appearing as a sort of fortress with high and thick walls, along with a metallic gate. The reinforcements didn’t end there, however, as there were multiple layers of barriers placed on top along with the numerous guards wearing golden armor surrounding the area around the fortress.
“How lucky,” mumbled Rob, pocketing his hands into his pockets and whistling a playful tune. “Miss Corine is busy for this morning along with the other teachers so it would be a self-lesson session this entire morning. I didn’t expect I could test out my magic here so soon on living beings!”
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Not too long ago, Rob had already registered to the school of his status as a Mage and had received permission to enter D Rank dungeons all alone, and even enter C Rank dungeons with apprentice mages as long as they had enough members and credibility to survive such an exploration.
The school was quite strict in its management of dungeons, with numerous restrictions placed on who and who can’t enter different dungeons. Not only that, every student is required to have a return stone on hand whenever they want to enter a dungeon - a special stone that would automatically pull the student out of the dungeon when they’re about to die, basically.
This was done to prevent any major accidents from happening and greatly reduce the number of students dying. In fact, this system had been so effective that no students had died at all these past five years for the academy, a perfect track record that they wish to maintain as long as possible.
If Rob wants to enter a C Rank dungeon alone inside the academy, he’d have to display a greater level of power, credibility, and go through some rigorous tests that would be a chore to go through. While he was confident that he was strong enough to pass those tests, he was too lazy, and that it would be a bit suspicious that he’d be so strong even though he just recently became a bonafide mage.
Rob soon found himself stopping at a certain dungeon entrance, with wispy blue and purple light swirling in a circle to form a vortex of energy ready to swallow him whole. Floating on the air above it, he read the name of the dungeon aloud, “Hobgoblin Hideout.”
Hobgoblins are D Rank monsters, and while pretty weak on their own, even for D Rank monsters, they’re considered D Rank because of their great teamwork and are usually seen moving in pacts and groups. If one isn’t careful, they might get surrounded by hobgoblins before they knew it and die a gruesome death. Adding in the shrubby rainforest inside the dungeon, and the natural camouflage of the hobgoblins, then it’s just a deathtrap waiting for inexperienced kids.
But so what? They’re nothing but Hobgoblins. Rob snorted and walked through the portal without missing a beat. No matter how fearsome their reputation may be, in his eyes, whether they be the strongest of gods to the lowest of ants, they’re simply one and the same - perhaps it was just his arrogance, but Rob would rather believe this is his confidence as a supreme being… and also because he might pull an uno reverse card by bending some of his self-imposed rules since he’s a devious little bastard with no morals.
In the next moment, Rob opened his eyes and found himself in a dense forest, with wet leaves and muddy soil. He sniffed and could smell the earth and soil clearly. He stretched out his hand and ran it across the bark of a nearby tree. He could hear the tree’s whisper, he can feel the soil’s tranquility, and taste the air’s joy. He lived in an entirely different world with senses that go beyond the common sense of humans and other races.
He could see taste, smell color, and feel odor. To be an alchemist is to be half-spirit, and spirits are beings born from nature and the world. They represent the air and soil, the water that runs along rivers, and the light that shines down from the bright star in the sky.
Rob smiled and walked through the dense forest full of shrubs and trees, grass and leaves. Faint sunlight managed to pierce through the roof of greenery from above as leaves rustled along with the wind.
Fwoosh!
As he continued his aimless walk, an arrow flew out of nowhere and was aimed at his neck, but Rob didn’t even spare it a glance and continued to walk forward, toward the arrow, with an unfazed look. The arrow seemed to have been pushed aside by a coincidental gust of wind, causing the arrow to barely miss the target by its mark and instead hit the tree right behind Rob.
“Skriii!” A group of hobgoblins jumped out of the trees and started to surround him at all sides. Some wielded long wooden spears while others held bows and arrows, staring at him with bloodlust and the desire to kill, perhaps out of their bestial instincts or hatred for humanity instilled by a higher being.
“How cute…” Rob smiled as a certain memory surfaced in his mind, a distant memory of a long-forgotten past.
…
“DIE!” Rob shouted in anger as his voice warped into a strange shriek. Below him, a young girl around the age of 14 stared at him with fear, at his monstrous face, at his green skin, his yellowish eyes, and the spear raised toward the sky.
Before she can even scream for help, Rob plunged his wooden spear into the middle of her forehead with scary accuracy. This wasn’t his first rodeo being a monster, and a spear was something he had used a ton back when he reincarnated as a caveman and had to fight against some horrific monsters out in the wild.
Just as he was about to laugh in victory, he suddenly felt his sixth sense let out grave warnings for incoming danger. A burst of magical energy erupted from the distance, and he looked up in surprise to see a young boy around the same age as the girl below him wielding a glowing sword covered in aura.
What the fuck?! An aura sword?! Rob, with his hobgoblin face, widened his eyes in surprise and inwardly cursed. Fuck, my soul foundation is already so low! If I have to reincarnate, I’ll be half-insane and would probably face eternal death.
How did I go from planet-destroying strength to this?! Curse those motherfucking righteous wizards!
Rob tucked his tail and ran with all his might, his eyes looking back in horror as the young boy ran straight at him with endless bloodlust in his eyes.
Oh no you don’t! Rob struggled to wield the pitiful amount of mana inside the goblin’s body. From the muddy ground beneath him, a ball of damp soil suddenly shot up toward the boy’s eyes, and he growled in anger and swung his dangerous mana sword.
All of a sudden, as soon as he waved his mana sword, a burst of sword aura shot forward to form a crescent blade. Rob winced his eyes in pain as his left arm was cleanly chopped off from his shoulder, but his survival instinct drove him to push forward without pause.
But soon, despair overwhelmed him as he arrived at the end of a steep cliff with a long fall to the ground. He looked back and saw the young boy overwhelmed with rage charging at him, his eyes red with madness.
Fuck fuck fuck! Fuck you, kid! Do you think I’m going down without a fight?! Rob gritted his teeth and raised his wooden spear with trembling legs. The pain overwhelmed him, but the pressure of death drove him to fight, to fight for his life and against the fate that wanted him dead!
I’ve been a goddamn god before! I caused oceans of blood to form and ravaged entire continents! You think you can defeat me?! Huh?!
“GRAAAA!” Rob shouted in a dissonant shriek, his spear flying through the air as he wielded the pitiful amount of mana he can muster.
…
Rob returned back to the present moment as he sighed, “Oh how the tables have turned in that life. That’s when my connection to being a human started to disappear. Heh, maybe that’s how I became the Devouring Darkness and even Betrayer of Humanity. Good times, good times. That look on their faces when I traded an entire reality of humanity to Satan and became a devil, how amusing - and that was my home reality no less.”
“Oh well, times have definitely changed since then.” Rob watched as a hobgoblin charged at him with murderous intent.
The hobgoblin swiftly lunged its spear forward toward Rob in an attempt to kill him in one blow, but Rob simply stretched out his hand and the wooden spear disintegrated into dust. Then, as if he had turned into a blur, he appeared right in front of the hobgoblin and smiled.
He grabbed the hobgoblin’s neck, tightened his grip, and whispered with a serene tone, “There there, you can die at ease now.”
Splatter.
With a tranquil grin, Rob placed the corpse of the hobgoblin on the ground, and using Alchemy Magic, pulled out a strange milky white substance from the hobgoblin’s dead body. The milky white substance squirmed and move, releasing a ghastly spiritual wail that caused the nearby hobgoblins to take a step back due to the strange sense of horror stemming deep within their minds.
Sigh, how nostalgic.