One Hammer Eighty Without Bargaining. This player was unknown and penniless during the DM Era of version 1.0. He officially entered the public eye and caught everyone's attention during the GX Era.
It seems that in version 2.0, he encountered some opportunities, triggered certain storylines, and acquired a card deck that was ahead of the environment at the time. From then on, he soared to become a master in the first tier of players.
And aside from having a unique card deck and strong skills, the most memorable impression he left on players was...
...stinginess.
That's right, stinginess.
How stingy, exactly?
For example, like right now...
"Ding!"
A crisp and loud system notification sound rang, and One Hammer Eighty Without Bargaining opened his eyes wide as he saw a line pop up on the interface that read "You've gained the attention of the NPC Youyu."
At the same time, a line appeared on Youyu's forehead saying "Favorability +5."
"!"
One Hammer Eighty Without Bargaining's mind quickly became active...as did his tongue.
He saw on the forum that such things really do happen. A very small number of player luck gods have a chance to trigger the "gained attention" prompt upon first meeting Youyu.
However, he heard that the probability is extremely low, as low as...as the chance of love at first sight on your first blind date.
Obviously, One Hammer Eighty Without Bargaining hit upon this probability.
He glanced at his plain and unremarkable Luck Attribute and then looked at his Charm Value, which was not even sixty, and fell into doubt.
Could it be...that Youyu just happens to like my type?
Thinking this, he quickly puffed up his chest and straightened his clothes. If he could, he even wanted to get a small mirror and comb to fix his hair.
Youyu thought for a moment and casually gave him a task that no one else had.
"It's been a whole morning, and I'm a bit thirsty," Youyu muttered to himself.
At the same time, a task to "buy a beverage for Youyu" popped up in front of One Hammer Eighty Without Bargaining.
It was just a casual task that Youyu made up on the spot, without any special meaning, just a random reason to increase this player's favorability, for the sake of future interactions.
Besides, he had been selling cards all morning and was really a bit thirsty...
One Hammer Eighty Without Bargaining's eyes lit up.
It really came! The task was triggered!
Thus, under the envious, jealous, and resentful gazes of the players around him, he quickly turned around and ran off to buy a drink.
He ran out onto the street, looked around, and his gaze first fell on a coffee shop. But just as he was about to go in, he thought for a moment and realized——
——The task only mentioned a beverage, it didn't specify what kind, right?
So maybe...a bottled drink would be fine?
After all, things in a coffee shop are...so damn expensive!
Although currency can't buy the most important cards for players, it's still useful for buying other things in the game.
And even though the cards bought in the card shop are game props and can't be used in actual battles, they still have collectible value.
In reality, many people are willing to spend hundreds or thousands, or even tens of thousands, to collect a card of extremely high rarity, not just to play cards with others, but for its collectible value.
Some players don't even play cards with others, and sometimes they open packs or collect some expensive Physical Cards just for the sake of collection.
So even though game currency isn't as important as Crystal Stones, it's actually still useful.
With a mindset of saving wherever possible, One Hammer Eighty Without Bargaining turned and ran into a small shop. Glancing at the drinks inside, he thought again——
——Maybe it doesn't have to be a drink, just drinking water would do?
Anyway, since it's about buying water, it doesn't have to be a big bottle, a small bottle should complete the task...
One Hammer Eighty Without Bargaining was caught in a dilemma between a large bottle of drinking water and a small bottle for a long time, with his eyebrows knitted together for ages, even to the point where the shop owner thought he was experiencing some kind of agonizing decision.
In the end, he gritted his teeth, made up his mind, and slapped his hand hard on the counter, nearly scaring the shop owner.
"Boss, give me a bottle of drinking water...a big one!"
With the shop owner's bewildered gaze, One Hammer Eighty Without Bargaining gritted his teeth, paid up, and returned with the large bottle of water, feeling confident that his favorability with Youyu was bound to rise.
After all, he had invested in a whole bottle of drinking water!
A big bottle at that!
What? You call it stinginess?
What a duelist does...how could it be called stinginess?
You don't know the cost of living until you're the one managing a household!
So when One Hammer Eighty Without Bargaining scampered back to Youyu and handed over the big bottle of water, he proudly held his head high without any trace of shame.
Youyu: "..."
Even though I was prepared for this, I didn't expect you to just bring me a bottle of water, to be honest...
...Well, at least it's a big bottle.
He did go to the trouble.
Thinking for a moment, Youyu didn't hold it against him and casually tapped the "task completed" button.
"You've got a keen eye."
Youyu began to flatter as he pulled out an "Upstart Goblin."
It was already spread in the forums. If Youyu liked a player, he would sell an "Upstart Goblin" at a special discount, and this purchase did not require any favorability.
Although this card is useful, that's not the point.
The point is that triggering this storyline means Youyu has taken a liking to you!
Wuhu, and off he goes!
Encountering this chance made One Hammer Eighty Without Bargaining extremely excited, thinking he was about to hug Youyu's golden thigh and rise to the peak of his life!
However, just before paying, he absent-mindedly opened his mouth and said, "Could you give me another discount and round off the change?"
Youyu: "..."
Do you really think I'm a vegetable vendor in the market, bargaining with you here?
Even the players lined up nearby were shocked.
How brave is this guy...
His favorability must drop, right?
Even One Hammer Eighty Without Bargaining regretted it as soon as he spoke and wished he could slap himself twice.
Damn it, bargaining has become muscle memory, and the words just came out without going through my brain...
His favorability must drop, right?
Unexpectedly, Youyu seemed unfazed and nodded slightly, "Alright, I'll give you an eighty percent discount."
The other players were taken aback, and they couldn't help but look at Youyu with more admiration.
Youyu surely is approachable, unlike those unreasonable NPCs in other games whose favorability drops at the drop of a hat!
And as for One Hammer Eighty Without Bargaining...
...This guy must have some big backing!
Isn't there some story between him and Youyu?
After giving a little favor, Youyu sent him off for the time being.
This guy will achieve big things in the future, but more importantly, Youyu thinks he can get important storyline tasks from him.
In the previous life, this guy was quite famous, had a unique card deck, but never posted on the forum to show off, and never told anyone how he triggered the hidden task or how he got that card deck.
Youyu thinks it's best to keep this tool-person around, so that when he triggers the task as he did in the past, he won't miss out.
What? He won't confess?
Ha, that's impossible.
There's no mouth that I, You, can't pry open.
Two days passed, and not only did the number of players reporting to Youyu and eagerly waiting for their turn not decrease but it actually kept growing.
It seems some players from nearby areas have been figuring out ways to rush over within these days, traveling from afar to bring him Crystal Stones.
Even the forum's interest in news about him was abnormally not declining. Instead, it seemed to still be heating up.
Youyu flipped through the forum in the evenings and found that this might be related to the recently arrived new tool-person under him, Cola Sprite, and the guild behind him, "Hanno Knight."
...