??? was continuing her usual routine when one of her subordinates suddenly reported an urgent matter to her. Another person on Earth had become a dungeon explorer. This in itself wasn’t that big of an issue. Of course, the person in question would become confused, but there was a system in place to help them become more familiar with the dungeon. However, this particular explorer was special, she was told.

 ??? took a look that this explorer’s stats and almost had a heart attack. He was ridiculously weak! Weak to the point that he would instantly die in the dungeon, even if it was only the first floor! ??? was stunned. This wasn’t supposed to happen. The dungeon only showed itself to those with affinity to mana. These people were either physically strong, or could use magic. The average stats for people who became explorers were about 25 in each category. Of course, this varied. Some were mages, and others were more suited to become physical fighters.

But this particular explorer’s stats were, to be blunt, absolute garbage. He only had 1 point in strength, speed, defense, and endurance. ??? wondered if it was possible to have stats this low. At that point, you were practically disabled. Yet this explorer looked like a normal person. Yes, he was very skinny and weak, but it wasn’t anything out of the exceptional. The explorer’s intelligence was quite high. But, this reflected his actual intelligence more than his ability to manipulate mana. If he could use magic, he might stand a chance. But, this explorer’s actual magical talent wasn’t high like some other explorers. If these stats were real, the explorer would probably die upon meeting a monster.

??? bit her lip. She was about to issue orders to her subordinates when something else caught her eye – the explorer’s luck stat. It was ridiculously high – 9999! The luck stat was known only to influence the amount of items, apart from magic stones, that monsters would drop when killed. However, the highest known luck stat to this day had been 36, and it had not proved to be anything special. The explorer with the ability did get slightly higher amounts of dropped items, but that was only by a tiny amount. It didn’t show any other effects.

??? told her subordinates to redo the stat evaluation. Stats were a measurement of capability, not the capabilities themselves. There was a chance that an error occurred while evaluating this explorer’s stats. However, the re-test gave the same results – terrible physical stats, high intelligence, and sky-high luck.

??? decided to take a look at the explorer herself. When he found himself in the dungeon, ??? was already monitoring him closely. While an explorer was in the dungeon, their real body wouldn’t in the dungeon. Only their consciousness was. However, the moment an explorer returns from the dungeon, his/her experiences, growth, and wounds are all transmitted to the body.

The dungeon was forcing people to become explorers, but the creators of the dungeon thought of it in a different manner: every single dungeon explorer had potential. At the very least, they would be able to survive through the 1st floor, and could make money. If they got greedy, tried to climb higher, and died, that was not their fault.

Except this explorer would probably die on the 1st floor.

But, ??? couldn’t mess with the system to try and save this explorer back. She didn’t have the ability to. The dungeon system was very old, very complex, and very powerful; modifying it might cause a calamity.

??? could, as per the rules, only answer the questions which the explorer asked. And the explorer only had the right to know a few things about the way the dungeon itself works. But, if she spoke herself instead of relying on the voice recordings, she could slip in a few tidbits of extra information.

So, ??? spoke to the explorer herself, hoping this explorer would be able make it out alive. But her heart sank when she saw the monsters waiting for this explorer. Tier 3 and 2 monsters in the 1st floor?! The system was broken! Why was this explorer so unlucky?!

Yet, she had no way to interfere. She could only watch as the explorer fought futilely and died……at least, that was what ??? was expecting. However the explorer defied all expectations: he killed all 16 goblins by slipping on the floor, rolling over once, and throwing a knife.

??? was stunned again. Was this the power of 9999 luck? There was simply no other explanation for this. Additionally, he had gotten really good drop items, which corresponded to the luck stat. But, she had never heard of the luck stat affecting anything else. ??? shook her head and continued to instruct the explorer.

But, ??? was thrown into the same rollercoaster of emotion just a bit later when the boss monster went berserk. She sunk into despair, thinking that the explorer would die. The explorer was thrown across the room, and had broken some ribs. Then, the boss monster slipped, smashed its head against the floor, and died.

Was he really lucky, or really unlucky? Or both?

 ??? realized that she’d gotten attached to this explorer. Explorers died often. That was just the nature of the dungeon. But never had she reacted this way. ??? would’ve felt really bad if the explorer had just died on the 1st floor. But, after having watched him overcome these struggles, ??? was very glad that he had survived.

The explorer’s luck stat had changed. It was no longer 9999, but now a jumble of symbols and numbers. ??? didn’t know what it meant.

??? attempted to contact her superior to report what happened. But, he didn’t respond. ??? was not surprised. She then contacted the shopkeeper John and told him to keep an eye on a certain explorer and to report things to her.

??? looked at what was happening within the dungeon once again. The explorer had returned to the 1st floor. ??? watched him as he sailed through the floor smoothly, and even defeated the boss without risking danger.

??? heaved a sigh. He would be fine. Actually, if he kept on getting item drops at the rate he was currently getting them, he would be more than fine. Maybe, he could do it. Maybe he could be the one…

“James Lu…”

The explorer’s name slipped out of her mouth. She sank into deep thought. The dungeon was only supposed to take in those who were worthy. So then, why was this explorer here?

Is luck a virtue?