Suffering of RNG

There were many unlucky people in Satisfy. There were unknowledgeable people who wandered into the wrong areas, people who had been cursed by a vengeful god, and of course, those that did nothing wrong. Why were they unlucky? They simply were. Cage was one of these people.

His unluckiness wasn't to the extent he would die randomly in a town, he was too strong for that. He was a swordsman worthy of acting as the main damage dealer during raids. Even if he encountered a few thugs, or a rock fell on him from above, his health would remain relatively intact. A certain someone would have been envious if he heard.

No, his lack of luck was related to the randomness everyone experienced. Item enhancement, raid drops, and random chance games like rock-paper-scissors. He was almost guaranteed to lose out, and even when he won, there would be some terrible calamity later. There were times where his raid party got the item he wanted, but he lost out when it came time for item distribution. There were times when his new sword was shattered due to encountering too many monsters before reaching a village. There were times when he got high reward fetch quests but the items were monopolized by rankers. He just could not win.

Even with this knowledge imprinted on him, he continued to play the game for five years. He had seen so many others become rich through this game, why couldn't he? He strongly believed that as long as he kept trying, he would get there one day. So he saved his money. He tried as hard as he could to not use potions. Even when he did use them, he made sure they were only the cheapest low-grade potions a novice might buy. And he kept trying to get high value items that could turn his life around.

It was definitely a hard life. But now, he truly felt fortunate.

[Songstress' Sword]

Rating: Unique

Durability: 400/400 Attack Power: 500

* Increases agility by 50

* Notes are played depending on the angle the sword is swung at

A longsword made by a blacksmith who appreciated music.

The weapon can play great music or terrible tunes depending on usage.

User Restrictions: Level 300 or higher. Advanced Sword Mastery. 500 strength. 1,000 agility.

The Songstress' Sword. A sword used by a famous swordswoman who always cut down opponents in a beautiful rhythm. It had the rare effect of increasing agility and it had fairly high damage. But that was it. It wasn't like the legendaries many rich players walked around with. Its worth, while not the worst, definitely needed improvement. So Cage turned to enhancement.

Item enhancement! The most cost-effective way of hitting it rich! Enhancement stones were not cheap, but they wouldn't cost your entire assets like equipment being destroyed in a boss fight. As Cage remembered his past tortures, he took out all his gold and bought several tons of enhancement stones. From there, it was an uphill battle.

He 'fought' over and over, receiving failures after failures with only a sliver of successes that gave him hope. As he stumbled his way towards RNGesus, he reached +6, +7, even +8! Despite the marginal difference in performance, there was a massive gap in pricing. A +8 sword had a beautiful shine, which could then be modified by a magic swordsman's mana, creating a new glow. This shine, which some idiots said was 'pointless', was enough to quadruple the price of his item. It was enough to make him scream in joy. But it wasn't enough.

He didn't throw away his gold to get a measly...well, Cage couldn't call it measly. But! It was definitely worth it to try for +9! What was the worst that could happen? He had already used up most of his assets. Surely he couldn't have much worse happen? As he continued thinking of words that would be a 'red flag' to most, he tried for another enhancement. Of course, it failed. But he continued onwards, and ended up back at +8. There, he would try it again.

This gave him two unexpected results. The first; the sword's value had doubled again in price, making it eight times the value at +7! It was truly a monumental occasion for him. He imagined selling the sword and living the life he'd always dreamed of. He laughed out loud and his tears of joy fell on the streets of this town. But he had no idea what was coming.

In a world inaccessible to most of the playerbase, there was a once unlucky person who fought against a great demon. And that caused a problem for everyone else. That problem being-

[Time has regressed.]

The enhancement disappeared. It felt like an illusion, but it was truly gone. The gorgeous shine he looked forward to selling was now no longer an option. Once he realized it was true, Cage did something any player would...

"What is this shit?! Aaaaaaaaaaaah!"

...he started swearing.