A System Where Fusing Four Pets of the Same Grade Has a Chance to Yield the Next Grade Up.

  Before diving back into the main game, I decided to run some of those fusions first.

  The duplicate pets I had piled up countless numbers of while trying to pull the Griffon in the past.

  I could have fused dozens at once using the multi-register function, but to be as careful as possible, I decided to take the tedious route and run them slowly, one by one.

  Swoosh—! Pop—!

  Watching the effects burst in vain, I counted inwardly.

  'Exactly 20 times. If I get 20 consecutive fusion failures, then I'll crack open one Constellation Egg...'

  'Six... Seven...'

  Swoosh—! Flash!

  [Fusion Successful.]

  They never stick on a normal day, so why are they succeeding uselessly at times like this?

  Recalling my past days of having terrible luck whenever I fused anything in any game, I suppressed my boiling annoyance and placed the sacrificial pets back up.

  'Phew, again... One... Two... Three...'

  Swoosh—! Flash!

  [Fusion Successful.]

  A hollow chuckle escaped me.

  After countless attempts, it was finally when I hit 12 consecutive fusion failures.

  Even before reaching my target of 20, the sensation of an incredible timing—a "This is it" moment—struck my mind.

  'Yeah, I feel it. Now's the time.'

  Out of the four Constellation Eggs I had carefully set on the floor, I gently lifted the one that seemed to have the best energy.

  [Do you wish to use the 'Constellation Egg'?]

  The moment I touched the positive [YES] floating in the air. A faint vibration began in the egg that was emitting a red light.

  Cr-crack—.

  A hairline fracture started on the hard shell, and then...

  Crrr-crack, crack—!

  An instantly blinding burst of green light spewed forth, and the egg shattered completely.

  And from within, the creature finally revealed its majestic form.

  "Cluck cluck-!"

  ...The true identity of the creature that appeared before my eyes, accompanied by a weak and pathetic cry.

  [(Advanced) Plucked Chicken]

  'No, it's supposed to be a Constellation Egg, what the hell is a Plucked Chicken...'

  As if telling it to get out of my sight immediately, I waved my right hand irritably and instantly canceled its summon.

  Seeing that shabby chick pop out with my own two eyes snapped me back to reality.

  I bitterly swore never to rely on my non-existent intuition again until I had perfectly stacked 20 failures.

  '16 stacks... Please, just a little more... 17 stacks...!'

  After suffocating fusions, I finally hit 17 consecutive failures, and a thrilling certainty that the flow of luck was shifting towards me washed over me.

  With a swelling heart, just as I was about to offer the 18th sacrifice...

  '...There are none left...'

  That mountain of duplicate pets had been completely exhausted without a single one remaining.

  1,230,000 Lumina.

  Looking at the blood-like assets I had carefully hoarded in a corner of the Premium Shop, the fact that I had to blow real money on more shop gacha just to offer sacrifices made my stomach tie in knots.

  'No. If I open the shop window here and break the flow, the energy of the failure stacks I painstakingly built up might vanish.'

  What is the truth of the gaming world? Gacha is all about timing and flow.

  Using the 17 consecutive failures as an incredible springboard, I took a deep breath and resolutely lifted the next 'Constellation Egg'.

  Cr-crack—.

  Once again, an intense light burst forth. Please, please this time!

  "Squeak, squeak, squeak!"

  [(Rare) Breeding King Brown Rat]

  'You f... b—.'

  A Breeding King Brown Rat following a Plucked Chicken. Out of deep rage, a crisp string of curses almost slipped out of my mouth without me realizing it.

  "It's been a while since we partied with Savior... Should we contact him and ask what he's up to?"

  A sullen Ian asked Succubus and Jude beside him.

  "No, let's just play among ourselves until he contacts us first..."

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  A lingering regret was evident even on Succubus's pale face.

  Nod.

  Jude, who had been listening silently, also tilted his head in agreement.

  "Well, alright... Then since we have that main quest left unfinished, should we head back to the abandoned mine!!"

  As if trying to lighten the mood, Ian spoke in a forced cheerful voice.

  They hesitated for a moment, wondering if it was okay to push through the quest they were supposed to do together on their own first, but recalling Savior's overwhelming skill as he proudly claimed victory in the tournament, they all nodded.

  "With Savior's skills, even if we clear it first, he'll catch up in no time!! Let's go!"

  The entrance to the abandoned mine, shrouded in damp fog.

  SMACK—!!

  "I'm pretty sure I told you this is a restricted area."

  Tyrant, an executive of the Toxic guild who had finished his hunt, ruthlessly smashed a regular player who came to do a quest with his massive hammer while mounted on the back of a giant Fenrir.

  "Phew..."

  Clang! Clang! Clang!

  Beyond Tyrant's gaze, countless guild members with the guild name [Toxic Army] glowing blue above their heads were frantically swinging pickaxes inside the abandoned mine.

  "We need a lot of Dark Iron. Since Iron King, the blacksmith of our Toxic guild, will take care of all your equipment later, don't think about anything else and just mine diligently."

  "Yes sir!!"

  It was the moment the trio passed the foul-smelling entrance and stepped into the dark abandoned mine.

  "Those guys... they're still locking this place down?"

  Spotting Tyrant's group camped out in the distance, Ian whispered cautiously.

  "Does it even make sense to lock down the location for a main quest..."

  Succubus frowned as if displeased and voiced her complaint.

  "But Savior told us not to get involved with those guys last time. If we just politely say we're only going to quickly clear the quest and leave, wouldn't they let us in?"

  At Ian's naive suggestion, Jude nodded silently, agreeing it seemed like a good idea.

  Ian approached Tyrant, who was visible in the distance, and opened his mouth, hesitating awkwardly.

  "Um, excuse us, we need to clear our main quest... We'll just hunt for a bit."

  Slowly turning his head, Tyrant looked down at Ian and snapped in an arrogant tone.

  "That's none of our concern. It's a restricted area, so leave immediately."

  As if finding it absurd, Ian raised his voice with an unfair and frustrated expression.

  "So you're saying we shouldn't even progress our main quests and just wait indefinitely?!"

  "Yes, that's right. Do your quests from the day we lift the restriction. Although I don't know when that will be."

  Ian remembered the fact that this guy was the one who had been helplessly crushed by Savior in the tournament finals not long ago.

  And then, falling into the simple and dangerous delusion typical of newbies—'Maybe we can win too?'—he fearlessly spat out his words.

  "What is with you people! You seriously have no manners!"

  Instantly, Tyrant crumpled his face in displeasure and tilted his head crookedly.

  "That remark just now seems quite dangerous."

  "Wait, come to think of it, aren't you the people who fearlessly challenged me last time too?..."

  A sneer as chilling as a snake spread across Tyrant's lips.

  "This time, getting on your knees and apologizing belatedly won't do you any good."

  Ding—!

  [The Toxic guild has declared a hostile relationship against your affiliated guild (White Night).]

  [Guild Master] Kangyu: What is this all of a sudden??

  [Guild Member] RomanticCat: ?? Why is Toxic attacking us?

  [Guild Member] FlameFist: Ah... getting involved makes the game exhausting. I'll stop here. Good luck, everyone.

  [Guild Member 'RomanticCat' has left the guild.]

  [Guild Member 'FlameFist' has left the guild.]

  The malicious Toxic guild, which called itself a 'Cartel guild' and routinely committed indiscriminate PKs.

  When that vicious name appeared in the hostile relationship notification window, terrified regular guild members began leaving the guild one by one without a shred of hesitation.

  Receiving Tyrant's murderous glare with his entire body, Ian explained the situation in the guild chat window with trembling hands.

  [Guild Master] Kangyu: Haa... I avoided them until now because I didn't want to get involved with them either... Seems the milk is already spilled. You're at the abandoned mine right now, right? I'll be right there.

  [Guild Member] Ian: Yes... I'm sorry.

  Closing the guild window, Tyrant slowly raised his massive hammer and continued in a cool, calm voice like a snake.

  "From now on, if I see the guild name 'White Night' above your heads, my blade will strike indiscriminately no matter what hunting ground you're in. Playing the game is going to become exhausting for you from now on."

  As soon as he finished speaking, Tyrant, mounted on Fenrir, charged fiercely towards the trio, mercilessly raising his mountain-sized hammer.

  As Succubus pressed both her hands against the damp floor of the abandoned mine, a chilling black aura began to creep up.

  Rumble, rumble, rumble—!

  The sound of Fenrir's footsteps approached right under their noses.

  Just as Tyrant was about to smash down his massive hammer, exuding murderous intent, black hands that had been crouching on the floor suddenly sprang up and ensnared the beast's legs.

  "...?!"

  Yelp! CRASH—!

  Losing its balance from the sudden binding, Fenrir yelped and tumbled over, and even the arrogant Tyrant pitched forward ungracefully.

  "You're truly annoying!"

  Brushing off the dirt and standing up, Tyrant raised his massive hammer high.

  Tremendous energy condensed on the head of the ignorant chunk of iron, and then...

  KABOOOOM—!!!

  As he struck the ground hard, the earth began to crack wide open and twist grotesquely along with a horrifying wave.

  Sharp rock fragments flying on the wave mercilessly assaulted the trio,

  and the wildly vibrating ground instantly destroyed their balance.

  "Grrrrrrr—!!"

  Fenrir, which had tumbled to the floor, let out an enraged roar and leaped to tear out Ian's nape in a single breath.

  "Ugh...!"

  Screeeech! Grrrnd, grind—!

  A moment of absolute desperation. With a split-second judgment, Ian laid Matus's Greatsword horizontally and barely caught the beast's ferocious fangs.

  However, the overwhelming muscle power befitting a ranker's Legendary pet.

  Ian's two arms, struggling to withstand Fenrir's grip strength that felt like it could chew through steel, were trembling madly as if they would break at any moment.

  Whoooooosh—

  A pleasant breeze blowing from the suffocating entrance of the abandoned mine gently began to cool the cold sweat beading on Ian's forehead.

  CRASH—!!

  The wind, which had felt merely pleasant, instantly turned into a fierce wind pressure, shooting like a cannonball towards Fenrir, who was mercilessly pinning Ian down.

  "Yelpppp—!!"

  While the heavy beast shrieked and was knocked away.

  Kangyu, appearing with his back to the light of the abandoned mine entrance, glared coldly at Tyrant and opened his mouth.

  "Let's stop here and have a little chat for a moment. Tyrant."

  "Grrrrrrr—!!"

  The 'Wind Spirit's White Tiger' standing reliably by Kangyu's side growled low at the enemy, further adding to its master's majesty.

  Tyrant, who had snorted and looked down at Kangyu's appearance, sneered sharply.

  "There's nothing to chat about. I clearly gave a warning, and you people failed to follow our lockdown twice. If I hold back again here, the prestige of our Toxic guild will fall."

  Tyrant clapped his hands exaggeratedly towards his back.

  "Come now, Toxic Army! Stop mining for a moment and quickly take care of those uninvited guests over there before we resume~"

  Clang, clang. Dozens of players from the subcontractor guild 'Toxic Army', who had been striking rocks with pickaxes, stopped what they were doing in unison.

  And with cold glints in their eyes, they turned their gazes towards Kangyu and the trio.

  "Haa..."

  Letting out a shallow sigh, Kangyu smiled gently at the trio.

  "Don't mind them. I knew we'd clash with those PK bastards eventually. If we can't avoid it, we have to face it. Let's do our best."

  Kangyu's soft yet firm encouragement.

  Feeling his nose sting from the surging guilt and emotion, Ian raised his tightly gripped greatsword.

  Succubus and Jude also did not back down and readjusted their grips on their respective weapons.

  However, Tyrant had no mercy.

  "Now! Let's end this quickly! Kill them all."

  As soon as Tyrant's order dropped, the Toxic Army players let out beast-like roars and charged fiercely towards the four members of the White Night guild.

  The desperate moment when dozens of pickaxes were about to embed themselves into them.

  DONG—! DONG—! DONG—!

  Along with a majestic bell toll, the sky across the entire server was dyed a blood-red, and sacred music began to resound.

  [Cleaving the sky of Liberty Online, the primordial myth opens its first eye.]

  [An anonymous player has brought down the Myth of the Constellations, 'Michael, the Archangel Lord of Radiance'.]

  [Remaining eggs out of the 12 Constellations: 11/12]