Reunion with the Master Enhancer
Carpe stared at the four skill packs, muttering more seriously than ever before.
"This is an emergency. As of now, I'm activating alert status one... no, Mukhyang alert level one."
"Kyu?!"
—A guy who never even did military service, talking about alerts...
"That's how critical this moment is. It's a crossroads of choices."
What order should he open the skill packs in?!
To Carpe, this was a matter of utmost importance.
—...That's your emergency?
"Yes."
—Sometimes I think you say even dumber shit just to piss me off and enjoy it.
"No way? I'm dead serious. You might not get it, bro, but draws depend entirely on the arrangement and order. The results can change completely."
—...
"No matter how blankly you stare at me, it doesn't change facts. That's the truth."
Everything in life has a rational order.
"People say east-west-south-north, not west-south-north-east or whatever. Because east-west-south-north is the right order! Draws have a proper sequence too."
—What kind of insane logic is that...
[The Ancient God of Revelry slams their knee in awe at your judgment!]
[The Ancient God of Revelry beams with satisfaction at your words!]
—Fine. I'm the crazy one. I'm the idiot for expecting logic from draw addicts!
"Alright then, Mukhyang."
"Kyu?"
"Wanna pick for me? Black squirrels have always been lucky charms since ancient times."
—Are you from another planet or something? Where's that superstition from on Earth?
Carpe brushed off Cheonma's minor jab with one ear and held out the four packs to Mukhyang.
"Kyuuuwoong..."
Who knew where it learned it from—Mukhyang stroked its chin with its short front paw, deep in thought.
And after a moment.
"Kyik!"
Tap tap tap tap!
It touched the skill packs in order, four times. Tina pack—Tina pack—Carpe pack—Mirage pack—Gillian pack.
"Oh. Some meaningful sequence..."
—Pretty sure it just picked in order of who gives it the most acorns usually.
"Kyit?!"
—See? Spot on.
"...Who cares about meaning. What matters is Mukhyang picked it."
Carpe patted Mukhyang's head a couple times, then grabbed the card packs.
"Here we go!"
Shrrrip!
Carpe tore open the first one, the 'Intermediate Radiant Skill Pack', and five cards floated into the air.
"This is it!"
He picked the second from the left without hesitation.
[3-star – Shoulder Attack]
"Hmm. Wasn't expecting a jackpot on the first try anyway."
Carpe quickly opened three more cards in succession.
3, 3, 3.
Including 'Shoulder Attack', it made a full 3-star four-of-a-kind.
"...Pretty sure some ancient god said they blessed this."
[The Ancient God of Revelry is utterly flustered!]
[The Ancient God of Revelry forces a smile: 'Ah, one more to go.']
"Yeah, that's right!"
It's not over till it's over. Baseball starts at the bottom of the ninth, two outs.
Carpe flipped the final card with intense determination.
Fwaah!
"Oh?!"
—This actually popped...
[The Ancient God of Revelry lets out a sigh of relief.]
A brilliant silver effect burst forth—the mark of a 6-star skill.
"Ooooh!"
And the identity of the 6-star skill card was astonishing.
Even the usually quiet Tina let out an involuntary gasp.
[6-star Skill Card – Mount]
"Whoa. This popped too."
—Cosmic-level rigging is real. Always be grateful to the great will.
"An excellent result, my lord. I am more than satisfied."
It was a duplicate, but he couldn't pick a 3-star, so Carpe chose Mount.
Ding.
[Your familiar 'Radiant Tistania' already possesses this skill.]
[Would you like to use the skill card to strengthen this skill?]
"Strengthen it."
[Mount +1 enhancement successful!]
[Your familiar 'Radiant Tistania' has acquired the 'Mount +1' skill. Skill effects slightly enhanced.]
After that, three more draws proceeded in a row.
From Carpe's skill pack, the final pick was '5-star Skill – Elemental Shield'.
The rest were 3333, so no real choice, but for Carpe—who had zero defense skills—it was plenty practical.
Then Mirage's skill pack burst with a golden effect.
[7-star Exclusive Skill – Weapon Duplicate]
True to its doppelganger theme, it was an exclusive skill that duplicated the target's weapon.
No need to think—pick!
And finally, Gillian's skill pack.
Fwaaah!
A brilliant rainbow light poured out!
[8-star Exclusive Skill – Call from the Underworld]
—Dark Lord is among the highest ranks of death knights who rule death. He can summon other souls he once roamed battlefields with as his minions.
<Heh heh heh! As expected of the magic squirrel prof. Knew to save the best for last!>
A death knight's lich knight summon skill!
True to its tyrant-of-the-battlefield setting, Dark Lord came with a skill specialized for many-vs-many combat as its exclusive.
[The Ancient God of Revelry beams with pride!]
"Kuhh. Goddess! Perfection! Long live draws!"
Carpe's massive skill draw session came to a close like that.
After finishing the draws, Carpe arrived in Zenonia's capital 'Jeno' and immediately sought out the warp NPC.
"Welcome, emissary of the gods. Where would you like to go? Just to confirm, travel to the rogue nation of Gilliant Empire is impossible."
"No, I want to head to the Rudineria Federation."
"My apologies. Gilliant's provocations have been ramping up lately, making me oversensitive. I'll prepare the warp right away. Warp to the Rudineria Federation capital 'Luisillan' costs 10 gold."
"Sure. Here."
"Confirmed. Activating the warp gate now."
The warp NPC raised his staff and began muttering an incantation.
The magic kingdom of Zenonia and the knight nation of Gilliant Empire were hostile to each other by setting, so no warps between their lands—but neutral Rudineria Federation was fair game.
Zzzzt.
As the warp NPC finished chanting, the massive portal device before him activated, splitting space open.
"Have a pleasant journey. May the blessing of mana be with you."
With the warp NPC's send-off, Carpe warped to Luisillan.
"Whew. Convenient, but 10 gold's steep. Over ten thousand won cash for one warp."
—Inter-nation travel has taxes attached, apparently.
"Bro knows every obscure setting. You're basically an honorary RaSe citizen at this point."
—That's why I'm preserved as an NPC...
"So people going from Zenonia to Gilliant pay double warp fees?"
—Yep. Rudineria rakes in gold just from warp tolls stuck in between.
It wasn't just warp fees.
Zenonia and Gilliant—bitter enemies for over a century. Rudineria, as the neutral power between them, had reaped massive profits.
—Same in reality. Countries near warring nations sell arms, tech, broker deals, and stack wealth. Rudineria's exactly that.
That was why the Rudineria Federation was the richest nation on Arcrux Continent.
"Makes sense—the buildings all sparkle."
Jeno's structures had a bizarre, magic-infused vibe, but Luisillan's were uniformly massive and towering.
"Hmm. Now where to?"
Master enhancer Fergus had only said he'd be in the capital—no specifics.
—Don't ask, I don't know where Fergus is either. That quest even being active now is abnormal.
"Ah, still gives me chills thinking about that moment."
After leaving beginner city Leisin, the first beach town most hit was Ruana.
There, Carpe had cleared the impossible hidden quest 'Fergus Family Heirloom' purely on luck-draw power.
Info that didn't exist in Cheonma's future knowledge.
"No choice. Gotta ask around."
But Luisillan was a massive capital, befitting a nation.
Bigger than Seoul in Korea, and he had to find one person.
"Like hunting for Kim in Seoul."
—Not that hard. He's an enhancer and blacksmith NPC. Narrows it down.
Like Ruana's forge street, Luisillan had one too.
Where blacksmiths and enhancers gathered—'Forge Street'.
—High chance he's there somewhere.
"Right! Let's go!"
Carpe used an in-capital warp straight to Forge Street.
The moment he arrived, blistering heat and crowd murmurs welcomed him.
"Oh my, that young guy heading there is so handsome? Wanna enhance at our shop?"
"Sorry, no offense. The moonlight on my hammer tip was just too beautiful."
"Argh! Busted again. How many times now?!"
A scene just like Ruana's Forge Street.
No wonder they say inhabited places all feel similar.
"Alright, comb from the entrance... Huh?"
While methodically scanning the enhancement street, Carpe spotted something odd.
A crowd surrounding a building, buzzing excitedly.
"What? Is that the enhancement hot spot in Luisillan?"
—But even for a hot spot, something's off.
Hot spots should have constant traffic, but no one was entering or leaving.
They just clustered, staring at the building—like waiting for someone to emerge.
"Any guesses?"
—None. Far as I recall, no big issues in Luisillan at this time.
"Really? Commotion even you don't know about..."
Maybe related to Fergus.
Carpe approached the crowd and scanned faces.
He sidled up to a friendly-looking woman and asked softly.
"Hi. Big crowd here. Know what's up?"
"Oh, hi. First time in Luisillan? This has been going on a while..."
Matching her vibe, she answered casually despite the sudden question.
"Rumor is there's a master enhancer inside. These folks gathered hoping for his service."
"Can't they just go in?"
"That's what you'd think... but it's a no-entry zone, weirdly."
"Ah."
"About two weeks ago? Some user did a favor for an NPC who came out of there and got an enhancement as reward."
"Ooh, enhancement reward!"
Carpe reacted with feigned awe, and the woman lit up, continuing eagerly.
"But get this—he bumped it straight to +9! On a Hero-grade weapon!"
"...+9?"
"Yeah. +9, so jealous, right? Everyone here's flocked on that rumor. Heard the NPC's name but it's fuzzy... sounded super badass though."
As she strained to recall.
Bang!
The door flew open, and a man stepped out.
"Ah! That's the NPC! Hey! Need any help?!"
The woman jumped, waving frantically to catch his eye.
Not just her—the crowd clamored in their own ways.
"Enhance! Take my gold and enhance!"
"Got any interest in rare metals? Found special ore in a dungeon..."
"Hey, stop shoving! I've been waiting three hours!"
Overwhelmed, the building's owner looked troubled.
"Um, outlanders. If you do this here, I can't work..."
"I'll do that work! Just hand it over!"
"I'll bark if you want!"
"Woof woof! Arf arf! Oink oink!"
Flustered, the owner glanced around—and locked eyes with Carpe.
"Eh?"
"Huh?"
Both exclaimed in unison.
"My benefactor!!!"
The owner—Fergus—lit up at the sight of Carpe and rushed over in a flash.
He grabbed both hands and pulled him inside.
"You finally came! I've been waiting. Come in!"
As the crowd reeled from the NPC's unprecedented reaction, Carpe and Fergus vanished indoors.
Bam!
Door slammed shut, and the crowd snapped to.
"What?! What's going on?!"
"Who was that guy? Hidden quest?!"
"Hey! You, the one talking to him earlier. Who was that?!"
"I-I don't know! Just bumped into him..."
"Dammit! I've waited three hours daily for a week!"
Carpe's first day in Luisillan.
He became the target of mass envy and jealousy.
The 10-Star Player's Lucky Draw