The server-wide notification flashed across the screen for the second time, clearly announcing: "Acquired: Accessory of the Demon God." Aoi and I stared at each other, our faces frozen in identical expressions of blank disbelief.
Honestly, this was beyond weird. Pulling a one-in-ten-million drop on the first try was absurd enough, but hitting those same astronomical odds twice in a row was practically impossible.
If it had been a single occurrence, I could have chalked it up to a freak stroke of luck—the digital equivalent of winning the lottery. It would have been incredible, but technically within the realm of a fluke. However, this back-to-back success made me suspect that something more than simple luck was involved. Shiro had mentioned adjusting her Blessing so it wouldn't interfere with the game, but that didn't mean other factors weren't at play.
For instance—and this was purely speculation—it wouldn't surprise me one bit if Machina had bestowed some sort of Blessing-adjacent effect on me. In fact, it felt more plausible than pure coincidence. Since this netgame connected to the cyberspace of my home world, her influence would naturally manifest as broken RNG.
I could practically hear her voice: "A mother's duty is to bless her child." It was exactly the kind of thing she would do in secret. She likely just kept it low-profile to avoid stepping on Shiro or Fate’s toes. Of course, this was all just my imagination...
"...Aoi-chan, I think I’m going to sell the rest of the boxes. What do you think?"
"...I think that’s for the best. Any more than this and people might actually start suspecting us of using cheats."
I figured we were still in the "safe" zone for now. While the truth was that I had pulled two ultra-rares from consecutive boxes, a decent amount of time had passed since the first notification because I’d been checking the stats on the Accessory of the Heavenly God and discussing it with her. To other players, it would look like one incredibly lucky person had pulled two rare accessories in a single session, but they wouldn't necessarily realize I’d pulled them back-to-back.
The message boards were probably in an uproar, but most people would likely view it as someone hitting a jackpot the size of a meteorite strike. It was at a level where people could still grumble, "That's insane, but I guess it could happen."
But as Aoi said, if I opened the next box and a third one appeared, the "glitch" or "cheat" accusations would fly, and it would cause a massive scene. More importantly, I had a feeling that was bordering on a conviction—if I opened another box, another accessory would definitely come out.
Selling the boxes without opening them was the smartest move. There were plenty of players with three-letter names starting with "Shi," so the odds of being personally identified and harassed were slim.
"W-Well, for now, let’s check the stats on the Accessory of the Demon God."
"Right."
"It looks like it’s geared toward a magic class. The 'All Stats +20' and 'HP 100% Increase' seem standard for this series. The unique abilities are... 'Ignore 100% of Enemy Magic Defense' and a '5% chance for Magic Damage to double.' I see. As a magic user, what’s your take, Aoi-chan?"
"It’s way too strong. Normally, you can only ignore about 90% of an enemy's magic defense after optimizing every skill and equipment slot specifically for it. Even with all the magic-defense-ignoring passive skills my character has, I only hit a total of 67%. Ignoring 100% with a single accessory is game-breaking. If I equipped this, I could focus every other gear slot on firepower-support items. And the double damage proc is incredible too. If that applies to multi-hit spells, my damage output will skyrocket."
I played a physical job, and since there were no defense-ignoring mechanics back when I used to play, I wasn't an expert on the current meta. However, based on Aoi’s reaction, it sounded like the absolute best-in-slot item for her class.
"...Then, I’m giving this accessory to you, Aoi-chan."
"Wh-What?! N-No, I can't! This is so valuable that selling it would probably net you enough to buy a full set of front-line gear!"
"That might be true, but if I sell this, it’s basically like telling the world I’m the one who pulled both the Heavenly God and Demon God items. Besides, it’s pearls before swine if I keep it. If you equip this and I use that other accessory to beef up my tanking stats, we'll be able to tackle high-difficulty dungeons together, right?"
"Ugh... when you put it like that... you're right. I really do want to play through the high-difficulty content with you... All right, I’ll take it. But I’m definitely going to pay you back for this someday!"
She finally relented and accepted the Accessory of the Demon God. With this, Aoi had received a massive power boost, and since I now had the gear to transition into a dedicated tank, it looked like we were ready to handle some serious challenges.
Serious-senpai: "High-difficulty dungeons... a 5% chance to nullify damage... Ah, I see where this is going."