A Mythical Journey To Remember - Chapter 35

Chapter 35 - Bad Luck

As I opened my eyes, sunlight pierced through, causing a piercing headache that made me feel as though my brain was about to burst like a balloon. Clenching my teeth, I surveyed my surroundings, attempting to determine my location.

However, there was nothing in sight except for a small wooden tent and a fire where a tall, muscular young person sat, cooking lizards. Herakles glanced at me and greeted me with a small smile. "You're finally awake."

"How long was I unconscious?" I inquired.

"About a week," he casually replied.

Just as I was about to rise, Herakles furrowed his brow and swiftly picked up a stone. With a flick of his wrist, the stone whizzed past my head, its speed beyond my perception. Though I didn't see it, I heard the whooshing sound as the projectile struck something behind me.

Turning around, I noticed a snake, the size of my arm, that had been slithering toward me. Its head now lay pulverized. Herakles frowned and added, "This is the fifth time I've had to kill something trying to make a meal out of you. You're quite unlucky."

Unlucky? Me?

I checked my status page.

Class: Alchemist

Traits: [Transmigrator] [Talented Alchemist]

Level: 6 → 8

Strength: 1.2

Agility: 1.1

Constitution: 1.1

Spirit: 5 → 6

Luck: 6

Skills Page ≫

It appeared that my luck remained as reliable as ever. However, it seemed that I had also leveled up during my unconsciousness, and the free stat point had been allocated randomly to Spirit. It wasn't the worst outcome, but it wasn't necessarily the best either, as I had intended to invest it in luck. Well, it wasn't the end of the world, after all.

Letting out a sigh of relief upon realizing my luck stat was still high, I decided to test it further and took out a small bronze coin. Flipping the coin into the air, I waited for it to descend.

"Tails," I proclaimed.

Usually, I had a knack for winning coin flips, getting it right about seven or eight out of ten times. As the coin landed in my hand, it revealed the face of an unfamiliar king.

After conducting the same experiment ten times and losing a total of nine times, it became clear that something was amiss—I was unlucky!

Frowning, I pondered the possible reasons behind this. Despite my luck stat remaining high, it didn't mean that I had permanently lost my luck. However, it was challenging to comprehend how a stat like luck even functioned.

Wait, was it similar to the spirit stat? Unlike the spirit stat, where I could utilize Kar, luck appeared to be more autonomous, operating on its own. No, perhaps this was my own preconception. Could I somehow concentrate and harness my own luck energy?

As I was about to try and think more, a migraine ripped through my head.

Fuck!

For now, the theory was that I had depleted a substantial amount of luck energy and needed time for it to replenish. I had never encountered such a situation before, indicating that usually my luck energy regenerated at a speed where being lucky every day didn't impact it.

I also had to keep in mind that I shouldn't gamble before a big fight, as it would deplete my luck needlessly. However, this was merely a theory at the moment, lacking solid evidence. There could be other factors at play.

In this world, fate was a tangible, physical manifestation, represented by threads of destiny. I wondered how my luck influenced this intricate web.

Wait, it occurred to me. Could increasing my luck draw the attention of individuals I shouldn't even be associating with? Like the powerful deities or major villains?

Damn it, I sincerely hoped no god decided to meddle in this affair.

"You know, you're quite the peculiar fellow," Herakles commented, munching on the roasted lizard's head. He effortlessly crunched through the bones with his teeth. "You wake up, and the first thing you do is flip a coin. I've encountered some odd people, but you top the list."

Being called weird by the man who strangled two serpents as a baby felt somewhat ironic. However, I decided not to point that out, following the rule of thumb: if someone can kill you with a single slap, don't provoke them.

"A week," I muttered quietly. By now, Budas, Auto, and Billy might have reached Athens.

Fortunately, my misfortune shouldn't affect them. The demise of the old hunter was a sorrowful moment for me when I discovered that my luck didn't extend to those around me. Nevertheless, I now breathed a sigh of relief.

Nevertheless, if I continued to experience ill fortune, I needed to take precautions until I recovered. "Herakles, right? Would you mind if I stayed with you for a few more weeks?"

He shrugged. "Sure, I don't have much going on around here anyway."

Considering he was a man who would kill his own children and wife in a fit of rage, he was surprisingly easygoing.

The first thing I did was gather some metal scraps lying around from Herakles' broken tools and fashion a cauldron. Then, I began brewing a batch of healing potions, hoping they would alleviate my pounding headache.

Interestingly, despite spending a week bedridden, I didn't feel malnourished or even thirsty. When I inquired about his secret, Herakles simply shrugged and replied, "Milk and sheep blood."

That explanation did nothing to clarify matters, and I was about to probe further when he yawned and fell asleep on the ground after devouring over five roasted lizards, each the size of my arm.

What a peculiar fellow. I wasn't entirely certain which version of the mythological legend was true. He could either be a raging maniac or a genuine hero who wore his heart on his sleeve.

Regardless, I collected some dry grass and sticks from Herakles' broken house, and set up the cauldron over a small fire I conjured through Transmutation.

I already had the herbs in a small pouch and began brewing. Making a healing potion required fairly common ingredients, especially for Level 1 potions.

With the wind at my back and Herakles sleeping nearby, a sense of strange comfort washed over me. However, there remained a lingering prickling sensation at the back of my neck—a nagging instinct warning me of potential misfortune due to my bad luck.

Yet, as far as I knew, my luck didn't extend to affecting the outside world. While I might hit a bullseye thanks to my luck, it didn't mean my enemy would slip on a rock and break their neck. So, logically speaking, my bad luck shouldn't summon a raging Greek god hurtling through the sky to crash-land on top of me.

The potion brewing progressed smoothly, and I was about to add the finishing touches and infuse it with my Kar when suddenly, the potion began bubbling.

Confusion momentarily clouded my mind as to what could be happening. However, my body reacted quicker than my thoughts, and I leaped back just as the cauldron exploded, sending a shard of metal into my thigh.

"Fuck!" I groaned in pain, clutching my bleeding leg. "What the hell?"

While I understood that potion-making involved an element of luck, there was also a considerable amount of skill required. Typically, with healing potions, there was over a ninety percent chance of success since my Potion Brewing Skill was at Level 2.

Damn. Things were challenging when luck wasn't on my side—I had grown accustomed to things usually going my way. This was a wake-up call.

I removed the shrapnel from my thigh, grateful that the explosion hadn't been too powerful, considering it was a low-class healing potion. Just the thought of dealing with higher-ranked potions and their potentially worse explosions made me shudder.

Well, for now, it would be best to refrain from working on potions until my luck returned to normal. How long would it take, though? It had already been a week. Had I truly exhausted my luck to such an extent last time?

Okay, I did jump on a homemade hang glider and crash-land on Herakles' house. The chances of that happening were literally minuscule.

Regardless, I couldn't spend all my time lying around during this period. I had to do something. Since there was no internet in this world, I couldn't even procrastinate.

Perhaps I should focus on training my body. With Herakles here, that should be easier. He would likely have some valuable tips and tricks for me.

For now, I would wait until he woke up. That way, even if something unfortunate occurred, and a monster found me particularly appetizing, he would be able to handle them.

...

It took over ten hours before Herakles woke up, and I stayed by his side the whole time. Thankfully the only enemy during that time was the mind-boggling boredom.

When I asked him to train me, he looked at me like I had a second head. "Training? Like teaching you how to use weapons? Sorry, but I'm no good with that. Father didn't want me touching any weapons."

Yeah, because with his monstrous strength, he would have overturned the whole of ancient Greece if he was also skilled with a weapon. However, that wasn't what I wanted. "No, I mean training your body."

"Training the body?" He looked even more confused.

"Yeah, you know, growing stronger..." I explained.

"Huh, I didn't know you could do that," he scratched his head and shrugged. "I never really trained in that. The only thing I learned was how to play some musical instruments, but even then I never was that good."

Well, that really brought some things into perspective. Whenever I thought of my Gamer Interface, I looked at it as my cheat in this world. Something that would give me an edge over the others.

However, looking at it now. I wasn't really that special… If Herakles trained even a bit, he would easily reach a level of raw strength I found hard to believe I would ever possess.

But that didn’t dishearten me much. After all, I was an Alchemist and I never hoped I would become the strongest macho man with a class like that. No, I just got a really dangerous idea.

At higher levels, there were potions that could increase someone’s strength by 50%. If I peddled those potions to Gods and other beings…