I Maxed Out My Luck Stat-Chapter 5: Awakening Ritual

The Vampire State had nine major cities.

Each of the six Noble Households controlled one city, and they jointly controlled two others.

The last city, also known as the Holy City, was a neutral ground.

It was controlled by the Holy Order that governed the religious affairs of the Vampire State, supervising all things revolving around the worship of the Ancient God of Eternal Night.

At the center of this Holy City was the Grand Temple.

It was a symbol of their God, as well as the place where those who had turned ten years old could see if they would awaken as Disposition Holders.

Only one in a hundred people could awaken a Principal Disposition.

And even then, it depended on the rank.

Many times, even those who awakened only possessed low-rank Principal Dispositions, which made them only somewhat better than non-Disposition Holders. Comparatively, awakening a Medium Rank Principal Disposition was a huge step up, and many considered it a big deal.

You could obtain a good role in the military or serve a Noble Household with that kind of power.

Then, there was the High Rank Principal Disposition.

Those were rare.

Possessing this made the Disposition Holder guaranteed for a life of success.

They would automatically be given access to the United Front Academy and would have all kinds of attention placed on them. They could develop their own faction or join existing factions as high-ranking members.

Finally, there was the Special Rank—reserved exclusively for Nobles.

Commoner-class and Special-class Vampires never awakened this Rank, and in the rare cases that this happened, ties to a particular Noble Household would quickly be established.

There were cases of Nobles having unchaste affairs and birthing illegitimate children.

Those children could thus awaken this Rank.

Special Rank was, as the name implied, truly exceptional.

It was beyond rare!

Anyone who awakened this power would be guaranteed the position of heir and would be sure to contribute great things to the State.

Their position in the United Front Academy would be undisputed.

They would be unstoppable!

’I hope I awaken that Rank...’ Richard Lamperouge Von Blanc, now alighting from his carriage and staring at the Grand Temple, had this thought for a moment.

Although his life had been full of all kinds of misfortune, he hoped his Maxed Out Luck Stat would actually come in clutch and help him this time around. After all, if he was truly lucky, then surely be among the exceptional few... even if he didn’t have the talent.

... Right?!

"Haa..." Even Richard wasn’t sure about that and could only keep his fingers crossed.

He had been transported to the Holy City through a Teleportation Circle, and the carriage that took him there had been arranged by his family already. There was no crest of the Blanc Household, and he was told not to dress too flashily so as not to grab any attention.

Richard could somewhat guess the intention of his parents after mulling over the many stipulations he had been given.

’They don’t want anyone to know that I am their son...’

He sighed and took a step forward.

’Fine, then!’ Clenching his fist, he stared at the Temple with great determination. ’I’ll prove you wrong by obtaining a super duper rare Principal Disposition!’

He was agitated.

Determined!

His body shook with great resolve!

’Don’t come crying to me and showing me your attention when I become a hotshot!’

Richard stepped into the temple and showed his entry plaque—an item he found in the carriage, which had been prepared for him prior to the day.

He was guided to the common queue filled with people ranging from Commoners—the bat-like monsters he had now gotten used to—and Specials.

He fit perfectly well with the Special Class of Vampires, though it wasn’t a good feeling.

Richard was meant to be a Noble.

Thus, he wasn’t even supposed to be in this queue, but was granted straight access to the front of the line and even given a special space for his Awakening Ritual.

Unfortunately, his parents did not make such arrangements.

Why would they?

They wanted to hide their shame.

’But this queue is so long...’ Richard saw that there were hundreds of people in front of him.

At this rate, it would take forever to get to the front of the line.

"Eh?" That was when he noticed something else.

Some people in the queue were giving shimmering things to the supervising priests. These priests were passing through the queue and checking the plaques of all who lined up to confirm their eligibility for the Awakening Ritual.

They were officials of the Holy Order—meant to be impartial.

But what was this?!

They were receiving bribes from some people, and in exchange, those people would be taken to the front of the queue.

It wasn’t even very discreet either!

This was an open transaction... and the shameless priests were pocketing the money.

’Are they allowed to do that?’ He silently wondered, tears forming in his eyes. ’B-but that’s totally cheating!’

Richard knew he was just being salty.

If he had the resources and chance to do that, he would also do the same!

Unfortunately, he had no money.

So he could do nothing but hate on the rich folks around.

"Grr..." He began to glare at the priests, wondering just how long it would take him to get to the front of the queue.

Especially if some people behind him could easily overtake him by dropping cash!

He was even tempted to confront these so-called holy keepers of righteousness for their clearly immoral actions.

But he knew that would be no good.

For one, they could simply make excuses like: "These are voluntary offerings" or "Our spirit was moved, and we were stirred to take these people to the front."

Since the Holy Order was given the authority to determine these things, and the Noble Households had almost no power in this neutral city, these people could make whatever decision they liked without facing serious consequences.

Besides...

’I was told to keep a low profile, so...’

In the end, he made a deflated sigh and stared defeatedly at the ground.

He didn’t want to get kicked out of the Temple for causing a ruckus or offending anyone, so he simply had to wait in the queue until it was his turn. If he couldn’t get his Awakening done today, he would have to return the following day.

And so on...

Right as he was having this thought, a small shadow fell on him, and he noticed the supervising priest drawing closer to him.

"Your plaque, please?"

He handed it over without making a fuss, knowing this was a routine checkup that everyone was subjected to. If he had money, it would be the perfect chance to bribe this priest. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Unfortunately... he was insolvent.

’Let’s just get this over with, and—’

"T-this...!" The priest stared hard at the plaque and then looked at Richard with a rather strange expression.

Then, he moved closer to whisper into his ear.

"Do you happen to be Lord Karl’s... you know, by chance....?"

Richard was surprised by the sudden question, but he still chose to answer almost immediately.

"Um, yeah... how did you know?"

"A-ah... Lord Karl and Lady Melissa are regular visitors to the Holy Temple. There is no one here who would not recognize their handwriting. This plaque contains it..."

"I see..."

Richard didn’t need help wondering why his parents would feel the need to regularly visit the Temple. He already knew he was likely the topic of prayer.

Or rather, they were desperately praying for another child from the Ancient God of Eternal Night.

"You shouldn’t be so far behind on this queue. Follow me."

The priest led Richard to the very front of the queue, even far beyond the areas where they placed the ones who had bribed. He saw many envious gazes on him, the ten-year-olds seeming pissed at his fortune.

Richard imagined he would be among them if it were someone else.

But this time it was him!

So he simply gloated and enjoyed the attention.

"You can put in a good word for me with the Lord and Lady. My name is Rapolski."

"Sure thing..." Richard said half-heartedly.

It wasn’t like he had any influence in the Blanc Household, and if he could put in any good word, would he not try to secure benefits for himself first?

Still, he didn’t have to tell the priest that.

As long as the man had some hope of his cooperation, there would be no problem.

"Next!"

Richard stepped forward and handed over his plaque.

Then, he was directed to a separate room, with a grandiose design and many ritualistic murals filling its backdrop. At the center of the room was a small pillar, and on top of it was what resembled a shimmering white orb.

"Touch the orb for ten seconds and wait for your evaluation." A voice, sounding mechanical, automatically sounded the moment he saw the mystical object.

Nodding slowly while breathing heavily, he approached the orb.

His breathing was rough—loud.

The moment of truth had finally arrived for Richard Lamperouge Von Blanc!

What would it be?

Awakening or not?

Low Rank Principal Disposition or higher?

His heart was pounding, and sweat filled his face as he placed his hand on the cool stone and waited for ten seconds.

Then, he removed his hand and waited for the results.

It was almost instantaneous.

"Awakening Successful! Congratulations! Participant, Richard Lamperouge Von Blanc, has awakened a Principal Disposition."

Richard beamed the moment he heard that, tears nearly seeping out of his eyes.

He did it!

He passed the hurdle!

’Take that, you wretched parents! You cruel world! My luck has finally changed!’

No longer would he be cursed with misfortune.

From now on, he would hold his head up high as a proud Disposition Holder and shock the world with his terrifying might.

He would prove his family wrong and transcend their common understanding.

Using his past life’s memories and the abilities he gained from this world, he would climb to the ranks of supremacy, becoming the most amazing—

"Principal Disposition Confirmed." The voice returned, this time darker than before.

It heralded a terrible outcome.

"Name: Basic Summoning." It said. "Rank: Low."