I'm the Only One Scoring Ultra-Rare Drops (1)

An artifact. An item that drops extremely rarely from the Tower. And now it was in my Inventory.

The moment I realized that, what did I do first?

'Luca first!'

"L-Let's go home now~."

There was a terrified kid right behind me. No matter how much dopamine was surging through me, I couldn't just ignore her to check my Inventory.

I knew she was an NPC who revives perfectly fine on the next floor even if she dies... but thinking of Se-rin? Yeah. No way I could leave her like that.

"U-Um... what is all this...?"

"I gotta check something urgent, okay? Let's go~."

"H-Hic!?"

I scooped her up onto my back in a flash. She was so skinny, she felt weightless. Swallowing the pang of pity in my chest, I started walking right away.

"Do-hwa, you come too."

"Kyeng!"

Do-hwa trotted happily along beside me.

The blood-soaked corridor had already cleaned itself up. Thanks to that, we reached the end without dirtying our feet.

We hopped through the portal, and poof—Luca, who had been on my back just a second ago, vanished. She'd gone straight to the 12th floor, no doubt. Time in the Tower doesn't pass without Awakeners around, so she should be safe.

Only then did I finally let the pent-up dopamine explode.

My hands trembled.

"...Do-hwa."

"Kyaeng?"

"I hit the lotto!!!!!!"

Whoa, an artifact. Me, getting an artifact!

"There's fewer than 100 of these in the whole world!! And I got one!!!"

I'd figured the Golden Rule trait meant farming was on, but I never expected it'd ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠drop before floor 20. Dopamine overload, for real.

"Kiiing, kiiiing! Neng neng!"

"Good girl, good girl~ Ah, wanna treat since it's a special occasion?"

"Kyeng!!"

"Here ya go~."

Joy like ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this is meant to be shared. I pulled a snack from my Inventory and set it down. Chicken breast from the convenience store, buy-one-get-one-free, expiration date just days away.

"Kyaeng~."

Do-hwa dove in happily, tail wagging like crazy. Looked like it suited her taste just fine. Yeah, eat up.

'While I appraise this artifact.'

"Inventory!"

I plopped down on the bed, leaving Do-hwa behind, and reached into the air.

Soon enough, something materialized in my hand. A ring.

'Wonder what the effect is.'

Artifacts were a whole different beast from clear reward gear. Like the Necklace of Plastic Surgery that permanently turns the wearer into a total hottie over a year. Or the Bracelet of Instinct that lets you sense most threats ahead of time. Or the Earrings of Protection that emit a constant mana barrier, deflecting most projectile attacks like bullets.

Just those three well-known ones were that diverse. That's why my hand was shaking like mad.

'If it's something useful for normals like the Necklace...?'

How priceless would that be? Heart pounding with anticipation, I focused my gaze.

"......What?"

'Trait enhancement?'

I was speechless for a second. An artifact that strengthens traits? Never heard of such a thing.

'But mine are all already Mythic...?'

My 13 traits were all Mythic grade. Already OP as hell. And this buffs them further?

...Is that even possible?

'Just try it on.'

I slipped it on in a daze. Smoothly—onto my left ring finger, no less. The size was perfectly snug.

And suddenly, I intuitively knew how to use the artifact.

'Inject mana, then reach out like this...'

"Oh."

So it just adds a new function. Doesn't buff the existing one. Well, even this is totally broken.

'Let's check the others.'

I kept experimenting after that. Wonder what gets added to the other traits. Since only one enhancement applies at a time, I planned to test them all.

And about 12 minutes later.

"......Jackpot."

Pilgrim's Tower clear rewards. And I snagged an extra stat point from it. Another potion too.

Of course, "low chance," so probably just luck... but hey, I'll take it.

"Do-hwa."

"Kiiing...?"

"Looks like I'm gonna get even stronger here."

Basically, my base specs matched Pilgrim's Tower climbers. Climb to 30F, and I'd match Hwang Hee-chan's stats.

But now? Even at the same floor, I'm a bit ahead. No matter if some superhuman solos to 100F—pure specs-wise, they can't beat me.

I'd just gained the potential to be the world's strongest.

The Pilgrim's Tower record was only 50F anyway, but whatever.

"Nothing's more broken than this, but the rest are pretty amazing too?"

"Kiiiing?"

"Wanna see?"

"Kyeng!!"

"Okay, check it out."

I scooped up Do-hwa and headed back to the Beginner's Tower.

Flash—!!

You've escaped the prison cell and realize: this is an underground dungeon crawling with orcs. Escape is still far off.

"...Kuwoek?"

The orc we spotted right on entering floor 12 blinked in a dumbstruck expression. Clearly short-circuiting at the sight of bold escapees like us.

"Eek!!?"

A shrill scream from behind. Had to be Luca. Thought she was safe now, but nope—another orc, and she's freaking out again.

"Do-hwa? You know what to do, right?"

"Kyeng!!"

"Good girl. Protect Luca now."

"Kyeng!!!"

Hop. Do-hwa leaped from my arms and headed back.

Now free, I thrust my hand forward.

-Grab.

'Ahh, that cool sensation. 15 minutes since last time.'

The sword clung perfectly to my hand. Used to have to rummage through the Inventory, but no more.

To others, it'd look like I just summoned a sword out of thin air.

"Kuiik!?"

That explained the orc's panic, but it didn't get time to recover.

'Swap enhancement to All-Cutting Sword!'

"Be right back!!"

Tatada—!!

I kicked off the ground and charged. My sword was already raised to the perfect height for decapitation.

"Kuiik!!!?"

Was I that scary? The orc swung its club on reflex. Typical Easy Tower monster—slow and clumsy.

No way it'd hit me.

'I'll slice you into a cute star shape.'

Shashaak.

I swung through empty air. The blade didn't even graze its skin. Anyone watching would think, 'Why slash at nothing?'

But...

I felt the clear feedback of a clean cut.

-Slice.

"Gruk...?"

The bewildered orc. A pentagram etched into its green skin—the proof my sword energy had slashed it.

But how would the orc know? It didn't even realize it was dead. Its world tilted with its head, right up to hitting the ground.

Thud.

"...Hoo."

'Clean hands, clean blade. Nice.'

Blade's not even chipped. Heard weapons need sharpening after heavy use, but not anymore.

'Thanks, ring! Let's go long-term!!'

Mwah. I kissed the ring. Victory ceremony and genuine affection—like it was a wedding band...

"......Hm?"

'Wait, why'd I put it on here?'

A sudden thought. Even if I slipped it on absentmindedly, why the left ring finger?

People might think I'm married. When I'm a lifelong singleton.

'Better avoid misunderstandings.'

I moved the ring to my right index finger. Not as snug as before, but it fit okay.

Only then did I turn back.

"Do-hwa, how was that? Cool, right?"

"Kyeng!!!"

Do-hwa wagging her tail furiously.

"Luca... well, probably too intense for her still."

"......"

Luca the NPC looked a bit spooked, on the other hand. After a glance at her, I regripped my sword.

"Kuik... Kuuuik!!?"

"A couple more coming soon~? If it's scary, hug Do-hwa and turn away~."

"Kuuuuk!!!!"

Thud, thud—!!

Another orc charged in. Revenge for its buddy? Who knows. Didn't matter.

'Artifact farming, let's gooooo!!!'

"Call your whole family!!!"

To me, those orcs were just walking money bags.

Two days later.

"Phew."

Almost doubled my power in just two days. Impressive enough on its own, but

"Time to unwrap...?"

'The artifact I just got!'

My Mythic traits had finally scored another freebie.