This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist-Chapter 300: Luck: 10 (+1)

Kayden burst out laughing. "Hahahahahahahaha!"

Hecipah frowned. "Is it funny?"

Kayden quickly composed himself. "Not at all. I’m just so happy for Little Hecipah."

Hecipah’s expression softened. "Good child."

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Rita: "…" Kayden, you little suck-up! And here I thought you were an honest kid.

Still, she had other matters to discuss today, so she endured it. Taking out a few boxes of rice harvested from [Union of Grids], she handed them to Kayden to deliver to the kitchen. Only then did she ask Hecipah, "Teacher, do you know about equipment binding stones?"

Hecipah gestured toward the materials on the side that needed processing. Rita obediently stepped up to help while Hecipah slowly explained, "I do. Don’t use too many of them."

So the burdens on the soul really are connected to equipment binding stones? No wonder such an important item sold for only 100 gold. Rita pressed further, "Is it because adding too much weight to the soul is bad?"

"Exactly," Hecipah elaborated. "The soul is the source of your strength. Adding too much to it might not seem like an issue at first, but later on, it will greatly hinder your development. Some places can only be accessed by the mind—your physical body can’t enter. Items bound to your soul will follow you there, which seems convenient at first. But they’ll weigh you down, even just slightly. Never underestimate the drag of something hanging on your soul. It’s best not to bind more than five items."

Rita was alarmed. "What happens if you exceed that?"

Hecipah answered, "After level 50, for every additional item you bind, the attribute points you gain upon leveling up will decrease. If you bind more than 10 items, you won’t gain any attribute points after level 100. By the way, do you need unbinding stones? They’re 500 gold each. They only work below level 50; after that, bindings become permanent. Since you’re my apprentice, I’ll give you a 10% discount."

Rita: "…" Lucia, I miss you.

No wonder binding stones weren’t expensive—the real profit was in the unbinding stones. And since only master-level jewelers could craft them, she couldn’t make them herself.

In the end, Rita bought four unbinding stones from Hecipah. She still had the 300 gold from selling Miyaas’ junk, another 300 from selling Moon Sand, and over 2,000 from the loot she got at Wolf Fortress. Even after spending more than 1,300 on toys, she had plenty left.

She didn’t know how much these stones sold for elsewhere, but she doubted Hecipah would overcharge her.

Looking back, Rita realized that if she had bound [Soul Catcher] to her soul back then, her final confrontation with Miyaas might have had unpredictable outcomes…

From now on, whenever she used binding stones on gear or items, no matter how good they seemed, she’d first inspect them with [Renovation].

After leaving the alchemy shop, Rita headed to the auction house. To her surprise, the Expert Account had indeed sold! Though it went for a slightly lower price than the "Buy Now" amount, the auction still fetched 2,788 gold after taxes. After splitting 1,394 gold with Nivalis, she was left with 1,503 gold.

On the wealth leaderboard, her displayed gold total still included Nivalis’ share. Forum users had already gotten used to seeing Rita’s name bouncing around the top 100. She earned a lot but spent just as quickly.

Returning to Blue Star, Rita found Nivalis snoozing on the living room couch. As she descended the stairs, Nivalis turned over, nearly rolling off. Rita teleported over and gave her a light kick on the rear, sending her back onto the couch.

Nivalis: "…" Heartless. I wasn’t even asleep.

Rita sat down beside her, handed over Nivalis’ 1,394 gold, and took out three unbinding stones. She used them to unbind [Water God is My Nemesis], [Meteor], and [Embers], then used binding stones to attach [Soul Catcher] and [A Big World, A Small Me] to her soul.

Her bound equipment now consisted of:

[Chávez’s Time] [Wrathful Moon] [Fire Spirit Ring] [A Big World, A Small Me] [Soul Catcher]

These were all essential items or curios for entering the tower, her most critical gear.

Though binding more than five items wouldn’t cause significant issues yet, and even after level 50, she didn’t rely much on attribute points from leveling, Hecipah’s advice stuck with her. It was better to minimize unnecessary burdens in the tower.

By now, it was nearing evening. Rita opened her panel and checked her Luck stat:

Luck: 10 (+1) (Base [1] - Recovery in progress: 149:26:05) (Base [1] - Recovery in progress: 150:17:49) (Base [1] - Recovery in progress: 151:19:30)

At last, she could fully relax! She had successfully stolen Rick’s Luck!

The bonus Luck was displayed in parentheses and couldn’t be added to her base stat. But could she use it with [Renovation]?

During her deep-sea experiments, she had been too preoccupied with Rick potentially waking up to explore this possibility. Now, with no such distractions, she spread out a variety of items across the floor, even pulling out the long-dormant [Magic Eye].

Taking a few steps back, she activated [Renovation].

Once again, she found herself in the bar.

Nivalis shifted to lie on her side on the couch, her wingtips curling to support her head. "Is this like a match-3 game?"

Blue Star has completely corrupted her… Rita replied, "...It’s equipment synthesis."

She picked up two fragments of dragon scales and placed them together. One was black, the other white, both glowing faintly with matching brightness. Their sizes were nearly identical, making them a perfect pair for experimentation. Even if she failed, she still had two more dragon scales to mask Nivalis’ scent.

Besides, their colors were strikingly similar to the yin-yang symbol. Just looking at them made her think they belonged together.

Nivalis set down her bag of gold coins and enthusiastically darted over to watch. Rita let her be. If Nivalis’ luck had brought them together, maybe she’d be useful here. Wait… Why does that sound like something Rick would say?

As Rita pondered this, the scales in her hands emitted a dragon’s roar. Startled, she glanced down. The black and white scales had fused into a yin-yang symbol, something so iconic and familiar that her breath caught. This has to be insanely powerful! She held her breath and checked the item’s description.

[Common Item] [A Pretty Dragon Scale]

Absolutely useless.

With a flick of her wrist, Rita tossed it onto the couch. Despite her gentle motion, the scale pierced through the couch and embedded itself in the cabinet behind it.

The sound startled Nivalis, who immediately rushed over. "Oh my Holy CupNorth YearSnow Pile! Look at this! What a beautiful dragon scale! It’s gorgeous!"

Picking up another piece of equipment, Rita muttered, "It’s useless, though."

Nivalis hugged the scale tightly and wagged a single clawed finger at her. "Snow Pile once said, ’There’s no such thing as useless things in the world.’"

Rita humbly asked, "Then what’s this scale useful for?"

Its white item name indicated no hidden abilities, and Snow Pile had mentioned the scales were already drained of power when she took them.

Translation Note:

Wolf Fortress is translated as Wolf Fortress. It reflects the straightforward tone and avoids unnecessary complexity.