Luke sat in the eatery, taking his time to consider the gamble. He had about 1485 Flame Points left, and the Mythic Card required 1300. If he did this, he would only have less than 200 Flame left, meaning he wouldn’t be able to forge anything again in a long while.

"Should I just settle for the Ancient-grade?" Luke whispered.

When he glanced at the other cards, there was a King Minotaur Helm that looked intimidating, and its stats assured it was a safe bargain. But the word〖Mythic〗 wouldn’t leave Luke alone. In every legend he’d ever heard and every chronicle he’d ever read, Mythic-grade items were the world-shapers.

"I have to take the opportunity," Luke said with determination. "I’m going for the gold."

He mentally tapped the golden card and selected 〖FORGE〗.

Immediately, the world dissolved as his consciousness was pulled into his Soul Space. Luke worried for a second about his body just sitting there, but a public eatery was considered a safe spot.

WHOOSH!

He was back in the Forge where the air was saturated with the smell of coal, and the furnace was roaring with blood red flames. Nothing had changed so far, but as Luke walked toward the fire, he felt something strange.

Last time he was here, the forge had a blacksmith’s texture, but this time, it felt milder, like an embrace. The warmth was so gentle, anyone could mistake it for a mother’s hug, and the fire itself crackled a lullaby. Luke paused near the Flames, placing his palm over the sizzle. He didn’t really know how a mother’s warmth felt because his mother had passed away when he was still an infant, yet this feeling was fierce.

"Why does the fire feel like a person?" Luke wondered.

He had work to do, so he shook the fuzzy thoughts away and grabbed his smithing hammer.

CLANG!

Luke struck the anvil to start the process. As soon as he did, the ingredients for the Mythic forge began to appear out of the air. There were sheets of metal, glowing crystals, and shards of starlight. And then, the most important part appeared in the center of the anvil.

It was a Mythic core. It looked like a tiny, swirling galaxy trapped inside a glass marble. It was unbelievably rare. Even a Duke would probably sell a whole city to get a core like this.

"Okay, let’s do this," Luke said as he started working.

BAM! BAM! CLINK! BAM!

Luke hammered the starlight into the core. He poured his Flame points into the metal, watching his balance drop. The furnace roared even louder, and the fond warmth of the workplace strengthened his passion.

After just a minute of intense work, the metal began to take shape. But then, something weird happened. The light split into two pieces.

DING! DING!

〖System Notification: Lucky Gacha!〗

〖Success! You have forged two Mythic armor parts instead of one!〗

〖Set Completed: Astral Tortoiseling〗

Luke wiped the sweat from his forehead, excited.

Two Mythic parts! He was the luckiest guy in the world! He couldn’t wait to see the insane stats. He probably had the defense of a mountain and the power of a star now.

He eagerly pulled up the descriptions for the new armor.

〖Astral Tortoiseling Cuirass (Mythic)〗

〖Type: Beast Armor〗

〖Effect: Grants the wearer increased intelligence by 50,000% and the innocence and pacifist nature of the Astral Tortoiseling〗

〖Skill: Divine Bookkeeper〗

〖Astral Tortoiseling Helm (Mythic)〗

〖Type: Beast Armor〗

〖Effect: Grants the wearer increased intelligence by 50,000% and the innocence and pacifist nature of the Astral Tortoiseling〗

〖Skill: All-Seeing Eye〗

Huh?

"Wait... what?" Luke asked, reading the descriptions all over again.

This was Mythic?

Where was its power? Its HAX? This armor didn’t empower defense or offense, it qualified... intelligence. If a Troll hit him in the chest, the Mythic armor would just let the club go right through.

"What have I done...?" Luke bellowed.

He didn’t want to be an accountant; he wanted to be a warrior! 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Glancing at the King Minotaur Helm and the other drafts in the Forge Slot, Luke saw what he’d missed out on. Having a Support-type armor was great, but Luke was currently struggling to find his footing. He needed power and force. The Bluespine Centaur Chestplate would have done him numbers.

In this world, people lived and died by the stats of their summons. If Luke stepped onto the battlefield in the Astral Tortoiseling set, the monsters would probably stop attacking just to stare in amusement. Even though it was Mythic-grade, it felt like a downgrade, and he had just exhausted almost all his Flame.

"I gambled everything... for a nerd gear," Luke groaned.

He looked at the two pieces of the glowing armor. They looked beautiful, but they felt useless for an 18-year-old who had just been banished with no protection. The Warden had said: New Florence is a hard city for someone with no one to watch their back.

"I guess I might still use it later," Luke thought. He decided to return to the eatery.

However, while Luke was in his soul space, he didn’t realize that his body appeared as if it were in a deep sleep. The three girls from Rubverton High had walked over to his table. They were standing just a few inches away, studying him like he was a weird animal in a zoo.

"Is he okay?" the one in the purple sweater whispered. "He hasn’t moved in ten minutes."

"Maybe his soul is so weak it just... turned off?" the second one said, poking the air near his face.

The blonde one leaned in a little closer. She squinted her eyes at his face. "You know, if you forget about the whole disgrace, he’s really handsome. Look at his jawline."

"Stop it, Thea!" the others hissed. "He’s a loser. You can’t say he’s hot!"

"I’m just saying! He has that dark, mysterious vibe," Thea whispered back.

Suddenly, Luke’s eyes snapped open, and the group gasped together, scrambling back and chaotically toppling over chairs. The atmosphere in the eatery instantly turned awkward because of them as they were blushing furiously because they had been caught staring at Luke and calling him handsome.

Luke took a deep breath and stood up. He didn’t look like a loser or someone whose life had just been wrecked. He was in total control, and he decided to play along with the young women.

"You know, it’s usually polite to ask before you start a fan club," Luke teased.

The girls froze. They didn’t expect him to call them out, and they also didn’t expect him to be so smooth about it.

"We weren’t... we were just making sure you weren’t dead!" Thea stammered.

"Well, I’m very much alive," Luke said as he picked up his school jacket and draped it over his shoulder. Looking at them, he decided to use them for information. "Since you ladies are clearly experts on everything in this city, do any of you know how I can get an audience with the Public Holdings Authority?"

Thea tried to puff out her chest, attempting to regain some of her lost confidence. "Oh, that’s easy," she said. "It’s the big grey building with the blue flags near the Central Plaza. But they don’t just let anyone in, especially people who... you know."

"Thanks for the tip, Thea," Luke said. "See you around."

Thea saw the wink he gave her as he turned toward the exit. It left her paralyzed.

Meanwhile, her friends stood in silence, watching Luke through the window until he disappeared into the city crowd.

"Very wrong," the one in the purple sweater said. "He was just kicked out of his house and disinherited by the Duke. Why is he still so cool and confident? He’s supposed to be crying in a gutter somewhere."

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A/N: Thanks for reading!