The Luck Tracker

"I want to do it too."

Just like that last post, I was currently taking a break from enhancing.

And already, I could feel the withdrawal symptoms creeping in.

"Hurry up and close already…"

The reason I was sitting out enhancements was simple.

The artifact I wanted had shown up on the online auction house.

Two hundred million won earned in a single day. I'd dumped ninety percent of it into that artifact.

The effect was simple.

Using my overall combat capability as a baseline, it lit up green if a floor was safe, yellow if it was iffy, and red if it was dangerous.

Of course, it wasn't a perfect judgment. Sudden variables like hidden stages or outside phenomena weren't factored into the danger reading.

Even so, the price tag was justified purely by its rarity. Relic-grade items couldn't be obtained unless you got absurdly lucky inside the Tower, which only drove the value higher.

Until this thing closed, I'd decided to shut the enhancement shop for a while.

"That should be enough."

All that was left was to wait. I'd always had solid patience, so I figured it wouldn't be a problem.

"The withdrawal…"

Nothing held my interest except enhancing. Even the trolling on the Hunter Gallery that I'd once craved so desperately had gone completely dull ever since I acquired Single-Minded Life.

"Ugh, I can't take it anymore. Screw it, even if it's a 100% success, I need to slam something—"

The moment my grip on reason slipped and I was about to hurl my hammer at the first thing in sight—

"Finally!!!!!!"

I claimed the Fate Beacon by tapping the gift icon on my status window and immediately hit the Tower entry button.

"Whoa!"

The moment I confirmed entry, my tiny one-room apartment vanished, and I was standing inside a Tower so vast it felt almost majestic.

"It's elevator-style, just like I saw on YouTube."

Elevators sorted by difficulty stood ready to take you straight to whatever floor you wanted. The one I picked was Easy Mode, Floor 1.

The place where every Tower climber first tested themselves. My reason for coming here was simple.

"Oh, it works."

I held the beacon up to the Floor 1 door and it glowed green, declaring the floor safe.

"Perfect. Confirmation done. Now let's start enhancing."

I set the beacon on the floor and smashed it with my hammer without a second thought.

Flash—

So. How exactly did a utility item with no stats change?

"Holy…"

The name, the appearance, the ability—everything about the item had transformed. The Fate Beacon, which had looked like a thermometer, was now something you could wear like a wristwatch. The ability itself had become an entirely different item.

"It even got a cooldown it never had before. That alone proves this is a broken, overpowered ability!"

I wanted to press it right then and there, but there was still something I needed to verify.

I needed to test exactly how that effect worked on the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Floor 1 monsters. The Fate Beacon—well, the thing that used to be one—had said it was safe, so I should be able to handle them.

"Still kinda nervous, though…"

My current body was that of a frail little girl. Even if Floor 1 monsters were glorified scarecrows that didn't attack, one solid body check and I'd be on the floor.

"Worst case, I can always run…"

With an escape plan ready just in case, I steeled myself and entered Floor 1.

Inside the comfortably spacious Tower floor, maggots the size of grown adults wriggled and crawled about.

"Ugh… gross."

I'd seen the titles a hundred times.

[Floor 1 Clear Guide Even Civilians Can Follow]

[If You Can't Clear Floor 1, Quit Being a Hunter Right Now]

"Looks exactly like the guide videos."

According to every YouTube clear guide I'd watched, these things were a little sturdy but never attacked at all. I approached the nearest maggot, held my breath, and brought the hammer down.

Pop—

The maggot's body burst like a deflated balloon.

"Huh…?"

Thankfully, the guts and blood must have vaporized in the same instant, because my body was still clean.

The only problem was…

Clink— clang.

The second I realized these things gave enhancement EXP, the crawling maggots started looking like walking jackpots.

I hammered the remaining four the same way.

I steamrolled the Tower floor with ease.

"Gotta post this on the gallery too."

As long as the enhancement withdrawal didn't kick in, the gallery was actually pretty fun.

"I said praise me."

Was a blacksmith clearing a Tower floor really that uninteresting? I'd secretly wanted the attention, and now my interest had gone completely cold.

"You can keep this trash."

I discarded the Tower clear rewards and headed back to the elevators.

"Whatever. Time to try this thing out."

I pressed the Luck Tracker strapped to my wrist with a soft fingertip.

Vmmm.

The Luck Tracker began to shift.

It must have synced with my status window, because it reported the tracker's progress directly.

"Hard Mode?!"

Even years after the Awakened first appeared, Hard Mode remained an impregnable fortress—nobody had cleared so much as Floor 1. And it wanted me to go to Floor 30 of that place?

The old me wouldn't have stepped inside even with a knife to my throat…

People's reactions were unexpectedly uninterested in Hard Mode itself. They mostly just thought I was baiting for attention. That was how impossible they considered it.

"I can do this. If it's me."

I knew exactly how broken my ability was.

"If the status window is calling it powerful luck, it's worth trusting."

Even a regular enhancement could skyrocket stats or rewrite abilities entirely—and yet the system never used flashy wording for any of that.

"For something that stingy with praise to call it 'powerful luck'…"

I couldn't even begin to guess how good the rewards would be.

Without hesitation, I selected Hard Mode Floor 30 and stepped into the elevator marked with a crimson crest.

"The monster's name sounds Japanese."

At the center of the floor stood a woman dressed in a soft violet kimono.

"Hmm."

Hair that blended black and red in a striking mix, crimson eyes, and a height that looked to be around a hundred ninety centimeters—she left an impression.

"So you are the challenger?"

"…Hic!"

What the hell. Just hearing her voice made my whole body start shaking. Her overwhelming presence alone set me trembling.

"To send a child onto the battlefield… Your nation must be on the brink of collapse."

In the blink of an eye she was standing right beside me, speaking as if we were having a casual conversation.

"I shall yield the first strike. I may not look it, but my chivalry is second to none."

A Japanese-samurai-looking woman going on about chivalry?!

Don't tell me that's why the Luck Tracker recommended Floor 30…

My entire combat style was a one-hit kill—if I took even a single hit, I was done for!

"First strike wins!"

I swung my tiny hammer with everything I had.

Flash—

A golden light completely unlike anything I'd expected flared up, and a single line of text appeared.

"Huh?"

Until now, every time enhancement failed on a monster, their body had exploded. So what happened when enhancement succeeded?

"I… I think I'm in serious trouble."

The greatest crisis of my life had just arrived.