As Yang Yu expected, after triggering this hidden storyline, the other slimes by the roadside were pathetically weak. He easily completed his first task.
After wandering around the village and not triggering any more tasks, Yang Yu decided to leave the novice village and head to the nearest city to become an adventurer.
On the day he left, his parents came to the village entrance to see him off.
Karl placed a wooden box into his son’s carriage, patted the sturdy horse, and smiled at Yang Yu, who was sitting in the driver’s seat.
“Be careful on the road.”
Without saying much more, Karl’s eyes showed reluctance. His son had grown up without him noticing.
Lisa stood next to the carriage. “Promise to come back after becoming a capable adventurer!”
Her voice trembled as she tried to hold back her tears, clenching her fists tightly to prevent herself from grabbing Yang Yu and begging him to stay.
“Don’t worry, Mom and Dad. Take care of yourselves too.”
Waving goodbye to his parents, Yang Yu flicked the reins.
The horse trotted briskly. The carriage carried five or six boxes, but apart from the one Karl had given him, the contents of the others had already been stored in Yang Yu’s system.
A blob of blue jelly wobbled out of Yang Yu’s backpack, climbed onto his shoulder, and swayed back and forth, looking for food.
Yang Yu took out a flowerpot from the system, planted a seed, and used a bit of MP to activate a skill, making a four-leaf clover sprout from the pot.
Hemo, the slime, leapt from Yang Yu’s shoulder, enveloped the entire pot, and began to feast.
After completing the initial task, Yang Yu had fought many low-level slimes to level up, but Hemo never joined the fight.
Perhaps because both were slimes, Hemo, being of royal lineage, refused to battle. Yang Yu believed that to drive monsters to fight, they needed to have a certain level of affection for him.
Despite constantly feeding Hemo four-leaf clovers, the affection level only reset to zero and never increased beyond that.
He was puzzled about how to improve Hemo’s affection.
“This is so annoying. If only there were some kind of item that could capture monsters and make them fight without needing affection, it would be so useful.”
Since Hemo didn’t fight, Yang Yu wasn’t worried. When the time came, Hemo would naturally take action.
Driving the carriage leisurely forward, Yang Yu opened the system and navigated to the newly added lottery feature.
Lotteries often captivated players, making them believe that the next draw would be lucky or that they could defy the odds and win big. This encouraged players to spend more.
Almost every game used lotteries to retain players, though some unlucky players would leave in frustration.
The lottery had three attempts with the following chances: 50% for skills, 20% for items, 20% for junk, and 10% for equipment.
With the new player benefit, he had three consecutive draws. No way he would draw junk three times, right?
[Congratulations! You’ve received a glass marble (junk).]
[Congratulations! You’ve received a glass marble (junk).]
[Congratulations! You’ve received a glass marble (junk).]
Huh? WTF?
It seemed like he could combine these for a three-star glass marble.
Opening the item panel, he took out the three identical glass marbles, which looked just like the ones used in checkers, even having the same size and pattern.
The only special thing was that these glass marbles were much smoother than the ones from his childhood.
Even though he was prepared for a bad outcome, drawing three pieces of junk still made his heart sink.
Why could others get good items with a luck stat of 1, but not him?
It seemed that some things couldn’t be done without the protagonist’s aura.
Yang Yu didn’t believe in luck, because it was useless. Whether trying to catch others’ good luck or drawing at midnight, nothing could change his fate of bad luck.
He had always had bad luck since childhood. He only asked others to draw cards for him, as he would only get the title of “Chief of Africa” from the game if he drew himself.
Whenever he still had a glimmer of hope of being lucky, reality would give him a harsh slap, reminding him, “Go to sleep. You can have anything in your dreams.”
Being forced to draw himself only increased the game’s difficulty.
His live stream channel, often heartwarming, was known as the friendliest to unlucky people, maintaining a modest popularity.
In this light, bad luck wasn’t always a bad thing.
Moreover, despite being labeled as junk by the system, these glass marbles still had some value. With a bit of effort, they could be turned into something valuable.
Like the fable of the straw millionaire, some things only show their true value in the hands of those who understand or need them.
With a bold idea forming in his mind, he smiled and, upon arriving in the nearest town of Rhodes, immediately headed to a jewelry store.
The jewelry store was luxurious, with various gems shining brightly, contrasting sharply with Yang Yu’s simple attire.
Looking around and cautiously protecting the glass marbles, Yang Yu caught the attention of a shop assistant, who then introduced him to the shop owner.
In a private room, the jewelry store owner, Gergen, examined the glass marbles for a long time, put down his magnifying glass, and extended his ring-adorned hand.
“50 coins. Deal?”
“That’s too low,” Yang Yu said, sitting gracefully on the sofa opposite the owner and sipping his tea.
“50 gold coins are already a favor, considering I don’t want you to make a wasted trip. To be honest, this is just junk, similar in material to window glass. You probably picked it up from somewhere, thinking it was a treasure.” After belittling the marbles, Gergen continued, “Still, some of my customers like collecting odd stones, so it might find some interest. But for now, it’s only worth this much.”
Yang Yu chuckled, putting down his teacup. “Don’t underestimate me. This stone was found by an adventurer in a labyrinth.”
Gergen handed back the glass marble, looking displeased.
“People often bring random stones, claiming they’re labyrinth treasures. I judge by my standards. If you don’t want to sell, take it back.”
Yang Yu pushed the owner’s hand back. “I understand your concern. Honestly, the adventurer couldn’t identify its peculiarities and eventually gave it to me, thinking it was junk. But I don’t see it that way.”
In my world, it’s junk, but here, it’s not necessarily so.
“What do you mean?”
“Look closely at this marble. Its smoothness surpasses that of most crystals. Shaping such a small, round object is no easy feat. Even with magic, the precision required is extraordinary.”
Gergen’s eyes grew sharp, focusing on the small glass marble.
“Why are you so sure this is man-made and not natural?”
“It’s not me; it’s you. If this marble were naturally formed, its value would be immeasurable.”
The sudden assertion made Gergen’s eyes widen as if he had been seen through.
“Most gemstones are just ordinary minerals, valued for their beauty or rarity, which attracts attention and competition, giving them special worth.”
Yang Yu seized the moment to embellish his point.
“Look at the three swirling patterns inside this marble. They’re not naturally formed. If this marble is indeed man-made, as you suspect, whoever made it, able to embed such intricate designs, wouldn’t care about mundane matters. They wouldn’t lack money.”
Gergen pondered deeply.
“If such a person exists, it wouldn’t be our concern,” Yang Yu whispered devilishly. “To put it simply, buy this marble, mark up the price, and sell it when people notice. It’s a foolproof deal.”