I've Become a Lucky Guy Again!

I've become a lucky guy again!

The sky had already gone dark by the time I was heading back to the dorm.

"Hmm, the design isn't half bad, either."

I muttered to myself, turning the newly acquired bracelet over in my hands.

I'd finally had some breathing room, so I'd decided to cash in my one Artifact Selection right on the way back.

And the artifact I'd walked away with was none other than…!

Three-Leaf Clover. An artifact that raised its wearer's luck.

Honestly, the Luin Academy artifact vault was stuffed with far more useful pieces than this one. Gloves ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that boosted Strength, glasses that sharpened your eyesight—plenty of artifacts that would have been more practical than a three-leaf clover. But I had to factor in just how unique my current physical condition was compared to everyone else's.

My body's literally garbage, after all.

Even if I slapped on a ring that jacked my Strength by fifty percent, I'd still lose an arm-wrestling match against Charlotte—a mage. My base stats were so abysmal that stat-boosting artifacts barely moved the needle.

So physical enhancement was out. And of everything left, the one that looked most useful was this Three-Leaf Clover.

On top of that, I knew the clover's secret.

Sprinkle Blooming Powder—purchasable from the Achievement Shop for five thousand points—onto the Three-Leaf Clover, and it evolved into a Hero-grade artifact.

"Guess I should hurry back to the dorm and bloom this bracelet~"

I was halfway to the dorm with a spring in my step when—

"Lady Elisse? Running into you at this hour—what a coincidence! Have you eaten?"

I spotted Elisse trudging along with an oddly lifeless gait. The moment she noticed me, her whole body gave a little start.

"Oh? Are you cold? Good grief, summer ended ages ago—if you keep wandering around in short sleeves like that, you're going to catch a cold."

"……I'm sorry, Shion."

"Pardon?"

Ah, wait. Don't tell me you're one of them too?

"Right now…… it's a little hard to look at your face and talk. Let's talk later."

Looking at how pale and drawn she seemed, something was clearly going on—but the vibe she was putting out screamed don't talk to me, and I couldn't quite find the courage to press.

"……"

Elisse walked right past me and kept going.

"……What is going on?"

Are they all ganging up to mess with me? Or am I stuck in some kind of Truman Show? Why is everyone acting like this? I'm going to lose my mind……!

I stared after Elisse's retreating back for a long moment, scratched my head, and headed for the dorm again.

All the way there I ran every possible theory for why they were treating me like this. Harvest: zero.

When I finally reached the dorm, I checked my mailbox.

"Let's see~ Ah, already here."

Inside was an elegantly packaged document. The results of yesterday's full physical exam, no doubt.

I pulled the papers out and stepped into my room. Then I sat on the edge of the bed, steadied my thudding heart, and carefully opened the envelope.

"Hmm……"

I read through it slowly.

"Whew. Thankfully I'm not suffering from any particular chronic illness."

I'd skimmed it roughly, and the words Mana Storage Deficiency were nowhere to be found no matter how hard I looked. The little knot of worry that had been sitting in my chest finally loosened.

"But hang on—if it's not Mana Storage Deficiency…… then why isn't my body growing at all?"

I narrowed my eyes and went back through every single character without skipping a word.

"Special…… notes?"

Then I hit a section that actually snagged my interest.

"Hmm……"

Put simply: my body was put together like a patchwork of countless people, which made reaching higher realms a serious problem.

"……What the hell is this even saying?"

Honestly, it was hard to wrap my head around. A person's body looking like it had been stitched together from a bunch of different people? That didn't make any sense.

The experts had probably just been reaching for a metaphor so I'd understand—it couldn't literally mean my body was sewn from other people's parts.

"Ugh…… this is bleak. In other words, climbing to a higher star rank is basically impossible from here on out……"

I sank into a funk for a second, then shook my head and forced a smile.

"I've managed this far, haven't I? If I just keep giving it a reasonable best, things'll work out somehow."

No point stewing over something I couldn't fix. Same as always—just do my best.

I stuffed the documents into my inventory and flopped onto the bed. The soft mattress nearly dragged me under right then and there……

"Aigoo, I can't just lie here."

Remembering I still had something left to do, I groaned my way upright and dropped into the chair at my desk.

"Alright~ let's see."

The Blooming Powder should be around here…… Oh, look at that—limited-time discount. What luck.

"Don't tell me this is the Three-Leaf Clover's power already?"

I hadn't even evolved it yet and I was already pocketing little perks like this. The potential going forward looked very promising.

The moment I bought it, a small leather pouch of Blooming Powder appeared in my hand.

"Now I just set the bracelet on the desk…… and dump the whole pouch on it……"

I shook every last bit of Blooming Powder onto the Three-Leaf Clover.

And then—

— Wooooong…!

The clover on the desk blazed with light, and its form began to change.

A lush green bracelet thickly adorned with a plant that had sprouted four leaves.

Ta-da! The Three-Leaf Clover had evolved into a Four-Leaf Clover!

"Heh heh. This is something I can actually brag about as a solid artifact."

Jumping from Rare to Hero-grade had jacked its performance way up, too.

First off, plain old "increases luck" became "greatly increases luck."

That alone was enough to justify a Hero-grade price tag—but the Four-Leaf Clover's real surprise didn't stop there.

It was the fact that it slowly siphoned the opponent's luck during combat.

The influence luck had mid-fight was beyond imagination.

Low luck meant your weapon dulled or broke more easily, you were more likely to eat a stray hit, and you stumbled into all kinds of nasty situations. High luck, on the other hand, could mean randomly landing a hit—or even tripping at just the right moment and dodging an ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠attack by pure miracle.

Of course, no amount of luck would let a 1-Star beat a 5-Star. But luck was one of those stats where having it never hurt.

"Shall we put it to the test?"

I slipped the Four-Leaf Clover onto my wrist and pulled a coin from my pocket.

"Ahh~ it'd be so nice if heads came up a lot~"

A wave of secondhand embarrassment hit me for doing something this ridiculous alone—but then I remembered I'd done far worse on the regular, shut up, and flicked the coin.

"Heads."

Again.

"Heads."

Again.

"Heads."

Again.

"Tails."

Again.

"Heads."

Five flips, four heads…… so roughly thirty-two out of five. I'd casually punched straight through about a fifteen percent probability.

"I don't know about anything else, but I am never losing at rock-paper-scissors again."

Nice. Artifact performance: confirmed.

"Haaah~ Now that everything's done, time to slee—"

I stood up from the chair, stretched long and hard, and dove onto the cozy bed—

the exact moment someone knocked.

— Knock knock knock.

"Hmm. Who could it be at this hour?"

I slowly pushed myself up, frowning, and activated Nature Realm.

"……Lady Charlotte?"

Charlotte was standing right outside my door.

I shuffled to the entrance and pulled the handle.

"Ah, Lady Charlotte. Haha, dropping by a guy's dorm this late at night—people are bound to get the wrong ide—"

I was halfway through the usual joke when I noticed the faint moisture still clinging to the corners of her eyes. I cut myself off and started over.

"Did something happen?"

Charlotte clenched her teeth for a moment at the question. Then she forced a smile and held out an invitation.

"Shion…… want to go for a little walk with me?"