Heavenly Luck Fist
There’s a saying in this world that life is just God’s dice game.
It means that everything under heaven doesn’t move according to some fixed order or rule, but is shaped instead by chance and uncertainty.
People say that because there are things no human being can fully understand or control.
Of course, there’s another view too, like Einstein’s famous line: God does not play dice with the world. Plenty of people would deny the first idea on that alone.
But I’d wandered off the point for a moment.
The reason I bothered saying all that was simple.
In this world, God exists, and he rolls dice.
Just like now.
Rumble-rumble.
The die only I could see started rolling.
Ping!
[4]
The number the die stopped on was 4.
A number that didn’t exist among the choices.
Which meant—
[Provokes him: Get lost]
“Get lost.”
My mouth started spitting out words that had nothing to do with what I actually wanted to say.
Damn it.
This ability, Dice of Destiny, was the core system behind Cheongyeoljeon, built on a TRPG framework.
A system that decided everything in the game with dice.
Under normal circumstances, it should have made the game far more exciting.
This is insane.
But now that the game had become reality, Dice of Destiny had turned into a deranged system that activated without my permission—and even chose options without my permission.
“Hah, have you lost your damn mind? You still think you’re some young master?”
The man sprang to his feet.
Was he angry?
Well, if you wanted to get technical, the real reason lay with the idiot who’d picked a fight with me while I was eating in peace. But that didn’t matter to him.
Stupid system.
I cursed inwardly and steadied my breathing.
The die had been cast.
“What’d you say?”
The man ground his teeth and clenched his fists.
If one of those hit me, it would definitely hurt.
I might still be able to smooth this over…
Maybe it wasn’t too late yet. If I wanted to live long, I had to avoid pointless fights.
Even if it was humiliating, maybe now was the time to tuck my tail between my legs.
[What did you say?]
[Provokes him again: Didn’t hear me? I said get lost.]
[Pretend to have made a mistake (10): Ah, I thought you were my friend.]
[Ignore him (15): ……]
Rumble-rumble.
[7]
Damn it.
[Provokes him again: Didn’t hear me? I said get lost.]
“Didn’t hear me? I said get lost.”
My mouth opened again, without my consent.
“You little bastard!”
The man shouted, his face twisting as the fist came flying toward me and filled my entire field of vision.
Shit, I knew it was going to turn out like this.
I cursed inwardly. Stupid system.
Fast.
For a street thug, his fist was actually pretty quick and clean.
Maybe he’d learned some rough, back-alley martial arts.
Still, it wasn’t much of a threat.
I tilted my head just slightly to the side and let his punch pass harmlessly by.
“W-what?”
The guy stared dumbly at his own fist, then at me, back and forth. He seemed unable to understand how he’d missed when I hadn’t even moved.
“Would’ve been better if your fist were a little more accurate.”
I shrugged and smirked at him.
“Y-you bastard!”
He roared again and this time threw his whole body into the strike.
Whoosh!
His fist again skimmed past my face.
“What the hell? How…!”
Watching him tremble with confusion and rage, I slowly clenched my own fist.
“Can’t land a hit?”
I gave a light laugh and tightened my grip. Now it was my turn.
Heavenly Luck Fist.
A cool-sounding name that claimed to contain the fortune of heaven, but in reality it was nothing more than a lucky punch.
It needed neither inner strength nor outer strength. Everything was decided by dice, a technique that could turn Cheongyeoljeon into an instant luck-screw-you game!
Which was why it had been the very first technique I went looking for after I possessed Paeng Yeohun’s body.
Heavenly Luck Fist activated!
A familiar message surfaced in my mind. Then a visual effect of a die rolling appeared before my eyes, and the result popped out.
[18]
[Great Success!]
[Your fist lands squarely.]
Nice, a great success!
Thwack!
With a crisp impact, my fist smashed straight into the man’s face.
Crash!
He took to the air for a moment. He rose in a perfect parabola, then rolled and tumbled to the ground.
“Ghk… you bastard!”
The man clenched the bridge of his nose, which had swollen red, and ground his teeth. Blood trickled from the tip of his nose, only stoking his fury further.
This isn’t going to end here.
His eyes were still full of malice. Instinctively, I knew this wasn’t something a few words could settle.
“Fine, that’s enough talking.”
I muttered as I spread my palm.
“Ten Heavenly Luck Fists.”
This time it wasn’t just one strike. I was rolling ten dice and attempting a ten-hit combo—a completely insane gamble.
One by one, the ten dice began to roll.
[3]
Oof, first punch is a bust.
The fist cut uselessly through empty air.
[17]
Thwack!
First success. My fist slammed into his right side.
[13]
Second success. He reeled backward.
[14]
Third—success. He lost his balance and staggered.
[12]
Fourth, striking under his chin. His neck jerked.
[20]
Fifth. A great success.
Another great success!
My fist smashed his jaw again.
“Kuh—!”
His jaw rattled, and he couldn’t stay standing any longer. He dropped to his knees on the spot.
[15]
Success. The sixth punch hammered into his kneeling torso hard enough to drive the air from his lungs, his face twisting in helpless shock.
[6]
Ah, this one’s a miss.
My fist sliced through the air. Sweat ran down my palm.
[9]
And this one too.
The misaligned punch brushed past his shoulder. The hollowness of a missed strike rippled through my whole body.
[4]
Damn, is the last one a bust too?
The weakly thrown fist barely grazed him before sliding past.
The remaining three chances ended in such empty frustration. Still, this was enough.
The man’s body was a wreck, covered in the marks left by the six successful hits.
I exhaled and lowered my fist.
The man, bruised and bloodied all over, looked up at me. The malice in his eyes was already fading.
“Y-you, y-you little…! Th-those hyungnim won’t let you…!”
He struggled to get the words out, spitting out a line fit for a third-rate thug.
“Go home.”
There was no point listening any further.
Heavenly Luck Fist.
[10]
[Success]
Thwack!
My punch smashed into the man’s face.
* * *
Right after he collapsed, I let out a long sigh.
Six straight successes, huh. The combination of Strong Luck and Heavenly Luck Fist really is broken in the early game.
Strong Luck, which added a flat +2 to every die roll, and Heavenly Luck Fist, which could double damage as long as it succeeded.
Together, they were strong enough to chew through every enemy I’d run into at this stage.
Still, I drew too much attention.
I’d needlessly attracted the crowd’s eyes. More and more people seemed to be gathering, and that was making me uneasy.
If there were anyone from the Hebei Paeng Clan or the Demonic Cult among the onlookers, things could get dangerous.
Time to leave.
The collapsed man had only been beaten unconscious; he’d wake up after a while. It would be wise to get out before that happened.
Finished with my decision, I turned back toward the inn without hesitation.
Normally, once you’d started trouble, the smart move would be to find another inn and avoid possible retaliation.
But.
I’d already paid for the room.
I’d naturally paid for it while eating.
That left me with only five nyang tucked away as emergency money.
There was no chance of getting decent lodging around here for that. Besides, it was already late; the cheap, respectable rooms were probably long gone.
Any rooms left now are probably barely fit to be called rooms.
So I didn’t really have a choice. I’d just have to survive tonight.
When I entered the inn after making up my mind, a very different atmosphere greeted me.
“Ah—so you’re a martial artist?”
The innkeeper’s attitude had changed most obviously.
The man who had usually treated me as nothing more than an ordinary customer was now standing there with both hands respectfully clasped, even personally bringing me cool water and fawning all over me.
“Yeah, something like that.”
I nodded with a sour expression.
So this place is done for too.
The reason I’d chosen Gurim Inn among the many inns of Beijing was simple.
Hardly any martial artists came here.
It was tucked away in such a remote place that martial artists rarely bothered with it, which meant I could quietly enjoy my own time here.
Most of all, I liked that the innkeeper didn’t recognize me.
For someone like me, who had to endure the gazes of people recognizing me no matter where I went in Beijing, Gurim Inn had been a ray of light.
“I-I see.”
Of course, that was all in the past now.
After hearing my answer, the innkeeper cleared his throat and subtly edged away from me.
I understood his reaction. To an innkeeper, a martial artist was like a powder keg that might blow at any time.
Much less one who’d just gone out swinging his fists and come back.
If he knew I was Paeng Yeohun, he’d probably lose it completely.
For both our sakes, I should probably keep the fact that I was Paeng Yeohun hidden as much as possible.
“I’m not going to do anything, so you can go.”
I smiled at the innkeeper.
“I-I don’t think this is something that can be settled with words… You just caused a huge scene a moment ago….”
Still wearing an awkward expression, he didn’t seem willing to retreat. He was trembling, as if afraid I might change my mind and tear the inn apart.
“I swear on everything I have that I won’t cause any more trouble.”
I lowered my head and forced a smile.
Everything I had, of course, was just the clothes on my back and those five nyang, but there was no need to tell him that.
“Y-you really mean that?”
“Of course. I’ve already paid for the room in advance, so why would I make more problems?”
After hearing that, the innkeeper hesitated for quite a while, then finally let out a sigh and nodded.
“All right. But….”
He trailed off and backed away.
Even so, he hadn’t completely let go of his suspicion.
I could feel his watchful eyes on me from the corner of my vision.
He’s suspicious all the way to the end.
I glanced toward where he’d gone and shook my head.
Well, that’s cute enough.
After living as Paeng Yeohun, a look like that was something I could brush off with a smile.
And it wasn’t as if I’d done nothing to deserve that kind of caution either, so I didn’t feel unfairly treated.
“Hey.”
“Hm?”
Just as I was gulping down the cup of water the innkeeper had poured me, thirsty as hell, a youthful voice brushed past my ear.
“What is it? Want something?”
When I turned my head, I saw a cleanly dressed boy who looked out of place in an inn, staring straight at me.
“Are you Paeng Yeohun?”
From the very first words out of his mouth, I could tell he wasn’t ordinary.
Accustomed as I was to Confucian manners, it was strange seeing someone that young speaking so casually, without a shred of respect.
“...Yeah, I’m Paeng Yeohun.”
Too annoyed to get worked up over it, I answered carelessly.
If he was just a kid, getting angry wouldn’t do me any good.
“If that’s really true, then show me proof.”
“...Why the hell would I do that?”
What, did he think I was some kind of spectacle?
If I said I was Paeng Yeohun, who was going to argue?
Besides, my reputation was bad enough that nobody would even try to impersonate me.
But the boy’s next words were nothing like what I expected.
“I’ll give you one silver tael.”
“A silver tael?”
I blinked at the sudden answer.
One silver tael?
That was ten days’ wages for me.
“Kid, you shouldn’t lie.”
I threw out a warning, unable to believe my ears, but instead of shrinking back, the boy looked around with a face full of resolve.
After confirming that no one was paying attention to this side, he slipped something shining out of his robe and showed it to me only.
It’s real?
A bona fide silver tael.
And a dazzling one at that, its fresh shine proving it had been minted not long ago.
“So, what exactly do you want me to show you? Let’s have a proper talk.”
“...What?”
The boy stared at me, mouth slightly open in disbelief, after watching me flip my attitude like a coin.
Money makes an adult.