76
Chapter 76
The egg that had been brimming with luck.
I applied an additional Luck Buff to that egg.
Then, the previously quiet egg began to shake violently.
Wiggle, wiggle!
Could that be a sign that it was going to hatch soon?
Everyone's eyes, including mine, were focused on the egg.
"Whoa! Our Al-jjang is dancing just like Gom-jjang! It must have life in it!!!"
"...What is this? Did a miracle actually happen?"
The Fox and Vampire said.
It seemed they had finally realized the egg had turned from an Unfertilized Egg into a Fertilized Egg.
The miracle happened a long time ago.
"The egg is suddenly shaking a lot...? Maybe hatching is imminent...."
Ailee murmured.
After that, everyone held their breath and stared at the egg.
I immediately checked the egg's information with the help of the Helper.
[??? lv.?]
┗Pw.?
┗??Rnk.Rare??Rnk.Elite??Rnk.Unique??
What is that?
The rank display was strange.
It was a mix of question marks and various grades.
The displayed grades were continuously fluctuating.
┗??Rnk.Superior??Rnk.Elite??Rnk.Uncommon??
┗??Rnk.Rare??Rnk.Normal??Rnk.Uncommon??
┗??Rnk.Elite??Rnk.Normal??Rnk.Superior??
Normal, Uncommon, Superior, Rare, Elite.
The grades were constantly shifting within this range.
It looked exactly like a spinning roulette wheel.
It seemed the species rank determination was currently in progress.
Ah. For reference, Elite wasn't the highest grade.
When I first checked the information.
I clearly saw that there was a Unique grade too.
Although it hasn't appeared even once since then.
That was probably because the probability of it being born as a Unique grade was low.
So, the highest grade so far was Unique.
A grade higher than Unique hasn't popped up.
Maybe the odds were too low for it to appear, or maybe the probability was simply zero percent.
Anyway.
Now wasn't the time to be doing this.
[[Dragon Mimicry lv.4]-[Breath Rapid Fire] is applied.]
[[Dragon Mimicry lv.4]-[Luck Breath] is used.]
Luck Breath Rapid Fire!
Please, let the highest possible grade appear!
Of course, it wouldn't matter even if it was a Normal grade.
It would be a bit disappointing, but I planned to embrace it with love no matter what grade it was born with.
While I was applying the Luck Breath like that.
Whoosh-
The egg calmed down once again.
"Uuuung?"
"...It stopped."
"Eek! I was looking forward to it, thinking our Al-jjang was being born!"
"I guess it wasn't a sign of hatching after all...."
The egg, devoid of any movement.
Vampire approached the egg, carefully stroking it as she continued to speak.
"It seems a miracle really did happen. A lifeless Unfertilized Egg couldn't have vibrated on its own."
"It definitely doesn't seem like it vibrated simply in response to Bear Baby's breath."
Ailee chimed in, supporting Vampire's words.
Ailee shifted her gaze to me.
"The miracle happening must be thanks to your breath, Bear Baby, right?"
Nod, nod.
It's probably thanks to me.
If it weren't for the Luck Breath, it probably would have remained an Unfertilized Egg.
"Our Bear Baby is amazing as expected...."
"To even turn an Unfertilized Dragon Egg into a Fertilized Egg... The more I know, the more ridiculous that skill is."
Ailee and Vampire sent me looks filled with awe.
Hehe, praise me all you want.
Because it's an undeniable fact that I'm an amazing Teddy Bear!
Ahem, anyway.
The egg's species rank was decided.
What rank did it get?
Don't be surprised when you hear it!
It's none other than!
[??? lv.?]
┗Pw.?
┗Rnk.Unique
Unique rank confirmed!
Oh yeah! It was worth generously showering it with Luck Breath!
Shimmy, shimmy.
I showed off a dance of joy, shaking my butt in front of the egg.
"Gom-jjang is doing a weird dance again!"
"Kku-o? My sibling really likes dancing."
"Uuuung."
***
A miracle happened.
The egg we brought turned from an Unfertilized Egg into a Fertilized Egg.
Everyone here belatedly realized this fact.
And currently, we were taking turns taking care of the egg.
Since they knew life dwelt within it, everyone took precious care of the egg with plenty of affection.
"I hope a good kid is born, kku-o."
Holding the egg tightly with her whole body.
Jjokkomi rubbed her face all over it.
"Egg Baby. Please be born healthy."
Ailee stroked the egg with a gentle smile.
"Hehehe. I'm finally going to be a mom too!"
Rub, rub.
Fox carefully stroked the egg with her front paws.
No, why are you the mom?
You're under a strange delusion.
"Uuuung, uuung~"
Squeak, squeak.
Tosuni scrubbed the egg hard with her front paws while humming.
"Good, this is perfect."
Vampire smeared her own blood all over the surface of the egg.
...Wait a minute, excuse me?
What kind of terrible thing are you doing to our precious egg?
It's becoming an eyesore, so please stop.
I hurriedly pulled Vampire away from the egg.
"Why are you doing this? I was in the middle of taking good care of it."
Stop with the nonsense!
You should step back now.
Since it seems you have no talent for caregiving.
Anyway, it was my turn to take care of it now.
After pulling Vampire away.
This time, I took care of the egg with the utmost devotion.
While consistently shooting Luck Breath at it.
As I was taking care of it like that, the Puppeteer Doll suddenly sneaked up next to me.
Huh?
It's not your turn yet, though?
"......."
The Puppeteer Doll stared at me intently.
What's up with it?
Does it have something it wants to say?
It didn't leave my side.
It kept hovering around, looking at me as if it were observing me.
It's been acting weird for a while now.
"...!"
Soon.
The Puppeteer Doll abruptly smeared blood on its finger.
It was the blood Vampire had plastered all over the egg.
"...! ...!"
After crouching down.
The Puppeteer Doll started drawing on the floor with the blood on its hand.
Hmmm.
I don't know what kind of drawing that is.
No matter how much I look at it, I can't guess what it's trying to express.
It really has absolutely zero talent in art.
"...!!!"
Grunt, grunt.
The Puppeteer Doll touched its head and frowned.
It looked as if it were struggling to remember something.
It seemed frustrated that it couldn't draw exactly what it envisioned in its mind.
Eventually, the Puppeteer Doll gave up on drawing.
However, its eccentric behavior didn't stop there.
"...!"
This time, it clumsily started dancing.
Oh, isn't that the Zero Two dance I did earlier?
It must have really liked that dance.
Okay, okay.
It doesn't seem to have any talent for dancing either, but it's still dancing cutely.
Clap, clap, clap, clap.
"...."
It stopped dancing.
Soon after, it turned slightly to the right.
It raised its left hand and gave a thumbs up.
Then, bending its elbow slightly, it started shaking its left arm up and down to a rhythm.
What is it doing now?
Is it an original dance, perhaps?
No, it's too sloppy to be called a dance.
When I tilted my head in confusion, the Puppeteer Doll also tilted its head and stopped its action.
"......."
Scratch, scratch.
It scratched its head, turned around, and walked away.
What in the world was that just now?
***
"Whoa! Al-jjang started dancing again! It's really being born this time!"
"Uuuuuung!"
[??? ?lv.1?lv.2?lv.3?]
┗?Pw.10?Pw.20?Pw.30?
┗Rnk.Unique
Time passed,
and the egg began to violently shake once again.
This time, it seemed to be the moment that determined its level and power.
For your information, creatures aren't unconditionally born at level 1.
How do I know?
It's impossible for me not to.
Since I saw Urami being born at level 2 on the first day.
Then, what exactly is the factor that determines the level?
I already asked our all-knowing, smart Helper about that.
[Just as one is born with a certain talent, the level is also something one is simply born with. In other words, it is solely determined by luck.]
This was the answer I received after asking.
As expected, the world revolves around luck.
Ah. And there was an additional answer too.
[No matter the lifeform, the probability of being born at level 1 is the highest. The probability is independent of the species rank.]
To summarize.
You can just assume that most things are born at level 1.
Being born at level 2 or higher is only possible if you are incredibly lucky.
And,
I was able to manipulate that so-called luck.
By generously showering it with Luck Breath.
[??? lv.10]
┗Pw.100
┗Rnk.Unique
Nice!
Level 10 confirmed!!!
I really benefited from continuously stacking the Luck Buff.
Once the level and power were confirmed, the egg stopped vibrating once again.
"Uung?"
"Eeeek! It stopped again!"
"I guess it wasn't hatching this time either."
"That's a shame...."
Sighs spilled out from everyone's lips.
Their expressions were full of disappointment.
They must have been anticipating that it would finally hatch this time.
In that moment when everyone was steeped in regret.
Crack-!
Suddenly, a crack formed on the surface of the egg.
"...!"
"Kku-o? The egg cracked a little!"
Anticipation bloomed once again on everyone's faces that had been filled with disappointment.
Craaaack-
The small crack slowly spread out like a spider web.
Before long,
Pop! A lifeform from the inside broke through the egg and poked its head out into the world.
"Wah, yong."
[Little Yellow Dragon lv.10]
┗Pw.100
┗Rnk.Unique