Lucky Day (2)

[Troll Shaman's Molar (1) acquired.]

"Ah, another dud!"

I looted the body of the troll that had barely coughed up one quest item and immediately backed off. Five troll warriors were charging through the dissipating smoke screen.

But I calmly dodged their attacks with backsteps and activated Stealth. The troll warriors lost their target and froze in place.

Just as I was about to leave the now-leaderless troll party standing there dumbfounded, I spotted a group of users arriving.

"Hey? Did you see that thief just now? No way he's soloing the Montena quest, right?"

"You haven't seen that thief before? Dude's a total grinder here! But don't think you can copy him just 'cause you're a thief too. Looks easy, but the timing's a nightmare—I've seen more than a couple thieves die trying to mimic it!"

In truth, I'd built a notorious rep without meaning to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠by sniping just the shamans with this method. It was one of the reasons I'd decided to leave today, after wrapping up a month of quest grinding.

"Looking for a healer level 180+ for a 4-man party—last spot! Come now and we roll out!"

"Flame-spec archer geared for trolls seeking party! Can hunt at least 4 hours!"

Gevan Village, part of the Bernstein Castle zone. It was a hot spot for users.

Proving the point, even in the morning, the village entrance buzzed with players recruiting for hunts. Meanwhile, the central square—usually packed during the day—was quiet, save for a few pro merchants with their stalls out.

"Damn! Once I decide to open 'em myself, even scraping together 10 feels like pulling teeth. Whatever, I got 'em all—please, just one good pull!"

Why the village was so popular? Mid-200s field hunting grounds that were blowing up lately, plus a decent-sized instance dungeon.

But the real draw was the famous quest here.

The so-called "Montena Quest"—a repeat hunting quest from Montena, the Iron Lion Knight Captain dispatched from the castle. The rewards were insanely popular.

Rumor had it over half the users coming to the village were gunning for that "Montena pouch."

Users are suckers for gacha, born and bred.

Montena's pouch gave random rewards, not fixed ones. That alone hooked players, but word spread that it could drop not just rares but even uniques, and the floodgates opened.

Unlike the others, though, I hadn't come praying for gacha luck.

My loot and enhancement luck over three years of playing had been abysmal.

No more hoping for miracles, not even a speck! Grinding is the only truth in my gaming life!

Hours wasted hunting "big drop" mobs for nothing. Items earned through blood, sweat, and tears shattered on enhancements while chasing luck.

To bury that past, I'd come here to grind the quest endlessly—not for pulls, but to sell the pouches.

After a solid month, I'd finally upgraded my gear specs and padded my virtual wallet.

"Man, Montena quest was straight honey. Real honey!"

As a thief—fast movement speed, plus Stealth—combined with my custom hunting method, I could solo what others split in parties.

Just sniping shamans, ignoring the rest for quick clears. Insane efficiency.

I'd farmed 5-6x more pouches than average, raking in what amounted to three months' salary for a regular office drone.

"Was down to scraping for part-time gigs to cover bills... Feels good to breathe easy again. Ah, kinda sad it's ending today? Could milk this spot dry some more."

No other hunting ground matched this stability and gold per hour for my build.

But regrets aside, it was time to move on.

Blame the shaman-solo grind—I'd barely leveled in a month.

Rankers were now 100 levels ahead.

For a lowbie like me to lag behind their pace was a problem.

Not that I was gunning for top ranks now.

But staying upper-mid tier kept opportunities open for bills and big loot.

If I wasn't this level, I couldn't even use my solo method. Gotta keep pace on levels.

Parting felt bittersweet after a month of pouch vending.

Sold at least 100, never cracked one myself.

So, before bouncing, I decided on a last hurrah: open 10 pouches.

"Good work! MagnumYoungSam. Thanks to you, the village is a bit safer from troll raids. Here's your reward!"

"Eh, I grinded a month's worth of part-time cash off you. Won't see you again, but stay safe, Montena! Thanks for everything!"

I gave my thanks to the NPC's rote lines and pocketed the pouches.

Lining up the 10 brown pouches ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in my inventory, my heart raced—uncharacteristic for me.

"Ugh! Sold thousands of these, but staring at my own pulls? Whole new vibe."

Each pouch fetched about 100k won real cash. Ten meant a month's living expenses could vanish in a flash if luck soured.

"Alright, man up—one big rip. Come on jackpot! Just one unique!!"

Deep breath, then hammered the inventory.

"Gah!!"

My hand froze, unable to finish tapping the inventory.

This wasn't a one-and-done situation.

"Insane... All potions? Hey! Montena, you scam artist! What kinda trash did you feed me?!"

First pull was a weapon—thought luck turned. Nope, trash-tier longsword, the most common in the Iron Lion collection. Rare grade, but barely pouch value.

A popular longbow would've broken even. A longsword? 400k won up in smoke. My mentality cracked.

"Heh heh heh, guy's doing pouch pulls? Total bust, lmao! Busted!"

"Aigoo, I feel that pain. Take it slow, or you'll ragequit!"

Near Montena, merchants hawked signs like "Unlimited Pouch Buy/Sell, Pouches 1120 Gold" or "Buying Iron Lion Weapons/Armor Sets."

A few familiar IDs saw me raging and chimed in.

"Ugh, fanning the flames! Who's quitting? And why laugh at a bad pull? Screw you!"

Most merchants AFK'd with sites open while stalling. But these watched live.

The first mocker—InfiniteCorp, a frequent pouch buyer—kept prodding.

"Always selling pouches, now pulling yourself? Finally quitting? Or dreaming of a hit? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Pfft! Know your place!"

Never dealt with his cheap buys. He spat venom, looking smug.

"What business is it of yours if I open or sell? Ugh... Gonna do this at the fountain. Place is cursed."

"Heh heh. Do what you want. Game's pure luck anyway. Unlucky scrubs like you flop anywhere. Shoulda stuck to grinding like IRL, kek."

"Hey! Pissing off someone already pissed? Who's unlucky—got 5 left! Ever seen a game end at halftime? Comeback goals hit harder!"

"Sure sure, enjoy the potion shower in the second half. Kek."

Already heated from dud pulls, this punk merchant's jabs nearly made me snap.

Ugh, this damn luck! Nothing ever goes right! Shoulda sold 'em... Typical me!

But I'd played enough to play cool. Regret boiled inside, but I clapped back.

"Fine. My shower, your problem. Keep reselling, NEET—up early for prime spot? Pitiful. Gotta hustle for conbini lunch cash, huh?"

"Kek, I make more than you."

"Earn or not, no desire to camp spots all day like you. How trash is your hustle? Anyway, square camper—good luck!"

Rule of game beef: the one showing more salt loses.

No point lingering. As I quitted toward the fountain, another merchant spoke up.

"YoungSam, hoping you hit big! But ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠if you rage, sell those Iron Lion drops to me. Fair market rate, no hard feelings!"

Ugh... Now that's a real merchant. Yeah, longsword's yours if I bust! I muttered inwardly and headed off.

Gacha pros always had superstitions or rituals. Failing cheap pulls before big enchants. Pulling post-kill. Specific spots.

I wasn't superstitious usually, but dud pulls drew me to the fountain—where I'd once lucked out on an enchant ages ago.

Modest fountain in the small village. Arriving calmed my hype.

Please! Just one unique!!

Big spend: tossed in 1 gold, prayed hard.

Deep breath, then ripped the last 5 pouches.

"Uwaaaah! Ugh! Illusion, you thieving bastards!"

Another roar escaped me.

Despite the prayers, pure potion party again.

No rare junk even.

Huh? What's this? Purple potion with smoke effect?

Staring blankly at inventory, one new, unstacked potion caught my eye.

"Wait—ain't this...? Golden Lion Knight Captain quest item?"