“Hello everyone, I am a newly debuted adventurer today, nice to meet you.”
The system appears to give three options, but in reality, there’s only one viable choice.
The first option, “Only defeated opponents can become teammates,” seems solid and challenging. As long as you succeed in the challenge, you can 100% recruit a powerful character. But in reality, it’s a trap.
Currently, Yang Yu has nothing but the grass-growing skill [Cultivate Four-Leaf Clover]. His only attack method is a basic attack, and it’s a genuine basic attack, not the kind that comes with a double slash or cleave.
Choosing an experienced adventurer as a challenge opponent would be disastrous; no matter how skillfully he operates, he can’t handle the opponent’s numerous skills. As for the weaker ones, he doesn’t want a lackey, especially since he doesn’t need one.
The third option, “A true hero needs no friends, be a solitary wolf,” is clearly a second-round challenge for experienced players, likely giving a buff to experience or stats but potentially preventing him from ever forming a team again.
This option usually requires a good understanding of the game and confidence in one’s skills. Choosing it on a first playthrough without saving is like knowing your wife will get a huge discount on Double Eleven but telling her to wait until the next day to buy.
After much thought, Yang Yu decided to show his talent, hoping his charming dance might attract some big shots.
Once decided, the system immediately issued a task.
[Perform a talent show in the center of the Adventurers’ Guild Tavern. Reward: Favor Detection for thirty minutes (You can see others’ favor towards you and recruit those with a favor of over 20 as companions).]
A standard task, with favor-based recruitment being quite common.
Receiving the task, Yang Yu immediately stood in the center of the tavern, unafraid of the crowd’s gaze, and began to sing.
If it weren’t for Yang Yu’s ability to cultivate four-leaf clovers, someone would have already leaped up and given him a comet strike to the head.
The onlookers were dumbfounded; they had never seen such an exaggerated and bizarre dance. They wondered if the boy had suffered some mental shock, but when they saw the slime he threw, they all realized.
“Oh, a monster tamer, that explains it.”
Successful monster tamers are rarely of sound mind.
Shortly after…
[Task complete, favor detection activated, 29 minutes and 59 seconds remaining.]
The system’s voice rang out, Yang Yu stopped dancing, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and confidently gave a charming smile.
Although the dance wasn’t a perfect replica, it was at least 70-80% accurate. This alluring dance should captivate most people’s hearts, regardless of age or gender.
He scanned the surroundings.
The tavern was filled with people, and numbers indicating favor appeared above their heads—red for favor, white zeros for neutral, and gray for dislike.
What’s going on? Why are there so many negative favor scores? Did I not dance well enough?
Feeling defeated, the air grew awkward.
Yang Yu strongly wished he could reload and try again. If he could, he was confident he could figure out how to get 100 favor from everyone. But now, it was too late to ask the gods for a save/load function; he could only find suitable people from the few red numbers.
At a glance, most of the red numbers were 1s and 2s, with very few over 3, far worse than expected.
“Sigh, I should have chosen the first option, beaten up a weakling, and kicked him out afterward.”
With a long sigh, Yang Yu walked to the counter, hoping to recruit some companions with money. At that moment, a small figure in the corner caught his eye.
Her messy hair covered her face, her petite body wrapped in a dark red-black dress. The long, wide purple robe made her already frail body look even frailer. Beside her was a mage’s wooden staff, smooth and ancient.
On the table were some dried sweet potatoes and plain water. She chewed dryly, looking lonely.
A big guy had just blocked Yang Yu’s view of this slender girl, causing him to miss her initially.
Yang Yu’s gaze was drawn to her.
Not for any particular reason, but because of the big “19” above her head, the only one in the tavern with a favor score over two digits, though still one short of the requirement.
“Wait, who said it has to be the favor score at the end of the performance?”
A dance had already changed people’s favor scores. Thirty minutes should be enough to recruit a companion, right?
Though Yang Yu was a single dog in real life, he had mastered romantic elements in many RPGs. A little favor increase should be easy.
Changing his route, Yang Yu approached the girl’s table and opened the attribute panel.
[Name: Bai Jin Level: LV12
Race: Human (Commoner) HP: 62/62 MP: 230/230 Stamina: 30/30
Strength 14, Defense 18, Intelligence 201, Special Defense 72, Agility 35, Endurance 12, Charm -10, Luck 10
Resistance: Curse Resistance 50%, Magic Resistance 20%
Status: Sickly.]
Hmm…
Did this girl put all her points into intelligence?
That was Yang Yu’s first impression, but he quickly realized that even if he allocated all his points to intelligence, he couldn’t reach 201. This must be her natural talent… how frustrating.
Luckily, her other stats were normal, making her a standard glass-cannon mage, exactly what Yang Yu needed.
With a 45-degree upward tilt of his mouth, Yang Yu lifted his short hair, raised an eyebrow, and with a touch of genuine warmth and charm, greeted Bai Jin warmly.
“Hello, Miss.”
Bai Jin stopped chewing her sweet potato and turned her head. Under her messy bangs, a heavily dark-circled eye appeared, lifeless and empty.
“Are you talking to me?”
“There’s no one else here but you, who else could it be?” Yang Yu tried to mimic the mannerisms of handsome guys he remembered, continuing, “Miss, if you don’t mind, may I sit here? I have some matters to discuss with you.”
As soon as Yang Yu finished speaking, the number above Bai Jin’s head changed.