I Maxed Out My Luck Stat-Chapter 6: Engagement

"E-eh...?"

Richard wanted to know if he had heard it right.

He had awakened a Low Rank Principal Disposition... and it happened to be one of the worst in terms of actual utility and potential.

—Basic Summoning.

"No way..." He mumbled, his pale face turning even whiter.

His knees went weak, and he crumbled to the floor.

A look of despair formed on his face.

This was his last chance—the final opportunity to prove his worth and finally have some semblance of a good life in this world.

And yet—

"Yet I got a trash ability!"

"You will now be granted a Mystical Characteristic, and your existence will be imprinted into the Akashic Records. Please be on standby..."

The monotonous voice echoed once again, but this time it was accompanied by an electrocuting pain that coursed through his entire body.

"Arghhh!" Richard screamed, enduring the physical pain while also feeling the deep cut of emotional anguish that coursed through his soul.

How unlucky could a person truly be?!

He was born into a Noble Family, sure, but his parents didn’t even want him.

They despised him.

He was raised as a pet for half of his life, and the other half didn’t particularly reflect his Noble Status. After finally being granted this final opportunity, he ended up with a very useless ability.

Basic Summoning.

What could it really do?

It was a Principal Disposition that allowed the user to summon any item from memory, with the condition that the item could be held by one hand and was considered of ’common quality.’ That meant he could not summon anything considered rare, since the item had to be readily available and in circulation.

That wasn’t all.

He could not summon living things, and he also could not summon anything with a Mystical Characteristic—essentially anything that had a special nature to it.

What did this mean?

It meant his Principal Disposition was only useful for basic survival or utility.

It was not special at all.

It also wasn’t uncommon—there were many people who had the same Principal Disposition.

These Disposition Holders worked at manufacturing and/or repair companies to save costs.

Ah, yes...

The items summoned also disappear after a brief period... at most a day... so there was that too.

Those employed at these companies used their Principal Disposition to summon tools that helped with production. Kind of like summoning a screwdriver and using it to screw parts, or summoning a pot and using it to cook.

This power reduced the number of tools needed for tasks.

It was a low-level power!

Useless!

That was what he had awakened—him, the sole child of the Blanc Household!

How utterly pathetic!

Just what would his parents think of him?

Actually, their evaluation of him would not change at all.

They already expected this outcome, after all.

"Haaa... haaa..."

The electrifying feeling in his body finally dispersed, and a Mystical Characteristic was embedded within him.

He could now freely use his ability.

But what of it?

"You may leave the room now. Follow the exit path to your right." Although the mechanical voice told him to go, Richard was still paralyzed.

He was lost in complex thoughts.

Although he hadn’t gotten any formal education, he had somehow learned certain things about this world. He was self-taught, so his knowledge wasn’t perfect... but he knew a few things.

For example, the nature of Principal Dispositions.

It was trite that the rarer the ability was, the higher the rank.

But that wasn’t the only criterion.

Principal Dispositions were given ranks based on their rarity, chance of evolution, applicability, adaptability, and so on. If a Principal Disposition wasn’t very strong, useful, versatile, and so on, it would be classified as Low rank. If it wasn’t very strong, but it was versatile, or if it was powerful, but didn’t have good applicability, it could have a Medium rank. If it exceeded normal parameters, it possessed a High rank. Finally, if it shattered all expectations and surpassed the quantifiable threshold, it would be given Special rank.

Only one in a hundred people get to awaken a Principal Disposition, and as one would expect, a majority of them had Low Rank abilities. Many people even had similar or identical abilities, which showed just how common they were.

It was also impossible to possess more than one Principal Disposition, so once you awakened one, it was impossible to change it.

Certain Principal Dispositions changed over time, evolving into something more powerful.

But this was never the case for low rank.

By definition, it had essentially no potential for growth and was the bare minimum.

... Just like him.

"ATTENTION: PLEASE LEAVE THE ROOM, OR YOU WILL BE FORCED OUT!"

Upon hearing the siren-like noise from the mechanical announcer, Richard picked himself up and walked out of the room. His head hung low as he left the temple, though his eyes did capture a particularly rowdy scene.

Amidst the commotion far ahead, he saw a very beautiful girl around his age entering her carriage. It bore the Noir Noble Family Symbol, and she was accompanied by about a dozen entourage carriages, filled to the brim with attendants of the highest caliber.

He focused his hearing to pick up on what was being said, but there were too many voices that it was difficult to make out the words.

He did hear a few things, though.

"Special Rank..."

"... The future of the Household..."

"... What a magnificent Principal Disposition!"

"... The Young Lady is amazing..."

"... Selica Magicula Vi Noir!"

’So that’s her name, huh...?’ Richard took his envious gaze away from the girl. ’Good for her.’

Some people just had all the talent and fortune.

He was left with nothing.

**********

Just as Richard expected, his parents did not particularly care about his Principal Disposition.

They already knew he was hopeless.

’So why did they call me here this time?’ He wondered, kneeling before Lord Karl and Lady Melissa once again. The atmosphere was also rather oppressive, so he wanted the meeting to be over as quickly as possible. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

’I wanted to prove them wrong the next time we met, but... oh well...’

Over the course of the few weeks following his humiliation in the Awakening Ritual, he had long come to terms with his situation.

There was nothing he could do at this point.

’What a life...’ He silently thought. ’I thought an average life was not very desirable back then, but if I had known things would turn out this way, I would have chosen to be average again.’

Back then, before finally reincarnating, he felt some regret.

He thought he wasted his past life, not accomplishing anything noteworthy.

He had told himself back then—

’In this new world, I want to live my life to the fullest!’

How ridiculous.

Now, as the failure that he was, Richard felt like those expectations he had of his new life were cruel jokes that he couldn’t even laugh at.

So he simply knelt and waited for what his parents had to say to him.

"We’ve agreed to an engagement with the Noir Family. Since you have no ability, the least you can do is be of use to us by marrying their youngest daughter and solidifying our alliance."

"O-okay..." Richard was stunned by this.

He was only ten years old, and he hadn’t even come of age yet.

An engagement was the last thing he was expecting.

"When you attend the academy, your engagement will protect you, and our alliance will ensure that our family will not lose the little standing it has left. You don’t have to do anything... Just attend the Academy and come out." The way his father spoke showed just how low the expectations of his parents were.

Richard knew...

His life was going to be completely dull.

The Academy was a place where all kinds of families and races attended. He would meet not only vampires, but other kinds of Undead. He would also meet those of the other six races.

But so what?

All of these people belonged to great families and represented their interests.

They had special traits or possessed quirks that made them stand out.

Compared to them, he would be completely ordinary.

No, he would be worse than ordinary.

’Fuck... what a sad life!’

His sorrow drowned out whatever joy came with being betrothed to someone.

"You will meet her tomorrow, since she’ll be visiting us. Do not humiliate the family any further and simply do whatever she wants."

"I understand."

"Good. You are dismissed."

Richard left the palace with a sigh, not even noticing the sad looks of his parents and how deeply they comforted each other.

***********

The next day arrived in the blink of an eye.

Richard was informed that his so-called fiancée was waiting in the garden, and so he dressed in his finest attire before going to see her.

Upon reaching the garden, he met two people waiting.

One was the Young Lady’s attendant, a beautiful and busty lady who was more Richard’s type.

She wore glasses and dressed like a secretary, having a seductive look that made his heart throb with desire. Unfortunately, the mature lady was not who he had come to see.

"Stop staring at Emily with those lecherous eyes, you worm!"

The person who spoke was his fiancée.

She was a ten-year-old girl with long black hair, the color even deeper than his own. She was more cute than she was beautiful, with a cold aura that made her seem unapproachable. Her eyes shone deep purple, and she stared at him with a mix of disgust and sheer hatred.

"I can’t believe this pig is my future husband!"

Richard sighed deeply.

’Why am I so unlucky? Of all the people to get betrothed to, it’s this girl... the youngest daughter of the Noir Household who recently awakened a Special Rank Principal Disposition.’

Comparing them was like comparing night and day.

She was magnificent.

He was not.

"Come over here and fight me." She suddenly pointed at him with a cruel glint in her eyes.

"What?"

With an obvious sneer on her noble face, she scoffed at his stupefaction.

Then, she made an evil grin.

"I want to hit something, and your face looks like it would be perfect for that!"