Chapter 20: Luck is a skill too.

“Akira-senpai, do you have any extra iron?”

[Iron? No, I was actually about to ask you the same thing…]

“This cave isn’t as big as I thought. There’s barely any iron here.”

[Right?! What kind of useless cave is this?]

• Only 17 iron total, LOL.
• Of all places, they found this remote dead-end…
• Seriously, what kind of cave is this? Not even coal!
• Strip mining is banned, so they’ll have to find a new one.
• What will our Warrior do now? ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
• LOL
• Did you really think Akira would be helpful? LOL.

It had only been ten minutes since I met Akira, and the cave we finally found was disappointingly small.

Why was this natural cave so tiny?

I grumbled internally but kept my thoughts to myself.

If I said anything out loud, my viewers would probably start babying me in chat again.

In the end, Akira and I left the cave to search for a new one.

And finally—

“Oh. This is huge.”

[Wow! Look at all these ores!]

Not long after finding another cave, we stumbled upon a massive underground system with multiple branching tunnels.

“Just from what’s here, we should be able to get fully geared up.”

[And whatever’s left over, we can sell. Oh—look, diamonds!]

“I want to see too!”

• Breaking news: First diamond found 40 minutes into the server.
• What’s the current price of diamonds? I think it was 500 per piece?
• If they find a Red Diamond there… Oof.
• “I want to see too!” LOL.
• Akira’s literally sprinting toward it.
• Finally, first diamond!
• Nice.

I followed behind Akira, who was gleefully hopping over, and sure enough—a light blue mineral was embedded in the stone.

So this was a diamond.

Wait… Hadn’t I already seen something like this before?

Wasn’t there something similar stuck to the cave wall earlier?

I asked Akira, who was already mining it.

[Huh? Ohhh—Pfft, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!]

“Wh-what?!”

[Ahaha! No, no—snrk. Oh my god. Did you think glowing moss was a diamond?!]

“…Excuse me? Glowing moss?”

• Ahahahahahaha
• Okay, to be fair, it does look similar in the dark.
• Newbie struggles…
• Cute, but also kinda sad, ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
• LOLLLLLL
• Even experienced Mark players sometimes mistake it for diamonds…
• 700
• “Wh-what?!”
• Akira’s laugh is killing me, LOL.

Wait, what?

There’s a plant called glowing moss?!

“…Oh. Yeah. That’s definitely moss.”

[Ugh! You’re way too cute!]

“Please stop teasing me.”

Just in case, I retraced my steps to the spot where I saw it earlier.

Sure enough, it wasn’t a diamond—it was just glowing moss.

I sighed in disappointment and continued exploring the cave.

But then—

Whether by fate or because the universe felt bad for me, I kept finding actual diamonds.

[Wait. H-how many is this?!]

“51 pieces. If we count yours too, Akira-senpai, we’ve got nearly a full set.”

[That’s insane…]

• Wait, what?!
• Yuwol… Are you…?
• How did they get 51 diamonds in two hours?! LOL.
• No way. This has to be rigged.
• Newbie luck is hitting hard right now.
• I want to wipe that smug look off their face so bad.
• Yuwol looks so happy, LOL.

Somehow, between Akira and me, we had collected nearly a full stack of diamonds.

Honestly, it didn’t seem that extraordinary to me, but judging by everyone’s reactions, it must have been a big deal.

After mining for a while, I figured it was time to leave, so I turned to Akira and asked.

“Akira-senpai, what about you? Are you coming with me?”

[Hmm… I think I’ll stay a little longer. I want to mine at least five more diamonds before I leave.]

“Five diamonds…”

• Gasp.
• Wait.
• Yuwol the Generous Warrior.
• No way, ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ.
• They’re actually giving them away?!
• The more I watch Yuwol, the more I like them, LOL.
• Akira is going to cry tears of joy…

[H-huh? No, you don’t have to! Those are yours! You mined them!]

“It’s fine. Even after giving you some, I still have plenty left. Besides, you’ve stayed with me for almost three hours. Think of it as my way of saying thanks.”

[Wha… No, really, you don’t have to…! And you gave me ten?!]

“I still have a lot, so it’s okay. Now you can come with me, right?”

• Whoa.
• TTTTTTTTTTTT
• ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ.
• I’m actually tearing up…
• Damn…
• TTTTTTTT
• Gasp.
• This is why they’re a Warrior… ㅠㅠㅠㅠ.

For some reason, the chat was now flooded with crying emojis.

[…Yeah. Let’s go together. I’ll help you sell your items.]

“Thanks. Since I’m the only one in Cohort 11, I didn’t really have anyone to do this with.”

[Ugh…! I can’t take it! I’m staying by Yuwol’s side until the server closes!]

“Uh. That’s a bit much…”

For some reason, Akira’s enthusiasm had skyrocketed.

[Akira: That’s it. Starting today, any attack on Yuwol is an attack on me.]

[Anna: ????? Did you eat something weird?]

[Akira: If you hang out with Yuwol, you’ll understand too, Anna.]

[Baekdoolgi: Calm down, you little kid.]

[Akira: Go to bed, low HP.]

[Baekdoolgi: ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ.]

[Chopa: Why are you hitting everyone at once?]

[Akira: I apologize…]

[Tsupi: Honestly, I understand Akira’s feelings…]

[Akira: Right?! Tsupi, you get it, don’t you?!]

[Yuwol: ?]

[Akira: Where’s my baby gone…]

[Yuwol: Go away.]

I learned how to trade items from Akira and got a brief rundown of how the KR Märchen Playground server worked.

[Hwaaah… I don’t wanna say goodbye!]

“Haha…”

[Nnngh. You have to call me next time if you’re free, okay? Promise?]

“Yeah, I will. See you later.”

[Hmph… Bye-bye.]

Like a teacher who had just finished a lesson, Akira finally left the village, saying they needed to mine more minerals.

Meanwhile, I no longer had a reason to stay in the cave.

“I have 20,000 won now. What should I do with it?”

• That’s a tough amount…
• Hmm.
• Akira hesitating before leaving is so cute, LOL.
• Hmmm…
• 20,000 won is a really awkward amount.
• Want to buy a fishing rod? It’s 15,000 won.
• Seriously, what an awkward amount, LOL.

I had sold everything in my inventory except for the essentials.

The total amount I earned was 20,000 won, which translated to 2 gold in the game.

Meaning…

I still had 3 gold left to repay my debt.

Now, I had to make a decision.

I could either invest in something that could generate money in the future, or I could take the safer but slower route—farming my way out of debt.

From what I saw, I could craft a hoe myself…

“I’ll invest. Where can I buy a fishing rod?”

• There’s a shop by the beach!

• You have to go there separately.
• Now, the chill healing stream officially begins.
• Alright, Warrior, let’s fish for 10 hours straight!
• Surprisingly, fishing is actually really profitable. It got buffed after people complained last season, LOL.

“Just wait and see. I’ll clear my debt in exactly one hour.”

• LOLLLLLL
• The baby still doesn’t know how the world works.
• One hour? PFFT
• Then again… considering how they found all those diamonds earlier…
• While you’re at it, why not start filling up the fishing compendium?
• If they catch even one S-tier fish, they’re debt-free.
• No way, LOLLLLL.

The viewers didn’t believe me at all.

But deep down, even I thought—maybe?

After all, the way I found diamonds earlier was suspiciously lucky.

Then, suddenly—an alert popped up on my stream.

Ding!

[Mission: Catch an A-tier fish within 1 hour.]

[Reward: 100,000 won]

[Time Limit: <59:58>]

“…Just you wait.”

^^

• Oh, we’ll wait right here~
• LOLLLLLL
• These demons!
• Should I start investing in “safe assets” too?
• LOLLLLL
• 100
• Gasp! Yuwol’s getting serious!
• 100

I immediately ran to the plaza, searching for the beach portal.

The plaza had multiple portals leading to different locations, and I jumped straight into the one marked “Beach.”

A transition screen appeared, and in the blink of an eye, I arrived at the shore.

They said fishing rods were sold at the shop here.

I rushed over, bought a fishing rod, and spent 15,000 won in the process.

It was a big investment, but if it meant proving those smug viewers wrong—it was worth it.

And so, with my fishing rod in hand, I stood by the shore and cast my line.

Fifty minutes later—

“…Can’t we just say I lost?”

• Oh no, there are still 10 minutes left.
• It’s too soon to give up!
• LOLLLLLL
• Yuwol… A-tier fish aren’t snacks.
• According to the tier chart, A-tier fish only have a 5% catch rate.
• I’ve been staring at the same screen for 50 minutes… This is fun!

Not a single A-tier fish was in my inventory.

Only three B-tier ones.

It seemed like all my luck had been used up in the cave earlier.

‘Honestly, I was too optimistic. If A-tier fish were as common as diamonds, the game wouldn’t be balanced.’

I hated my past self for being so careless, but there was nothing I could do now.

I sighed internally and waited for the last 10 minutes to pass.

Then—my fishing rod jerked.

It was probably another E-tier or D-tier fish.

Without thinking, I reeled it in—

“Huh?”

• ???????
• ???
• Don’t even try to lie. LOLLLLL.
• Safe asset? Did I just hear someone say “Let’s invest”?!
• ???????
• No way, NO WAY, LOLLLLLL
• ???
• Märchen’s Goddess of Luck is actually Yuwol, huh…

A golden-colored dolphin suddenly appeared in my inventory.

An S-tier fish.

So this is how I get one.