That's right, with special permission from Youyu, Xue Lang has already become the first player to get the chance to stick around and be his assistant!
His main tasks include but are not limited to running the store, sweeping the floor, mopping, and organizing merchandise. Occasionally, when there's no one else in the store, he also helps with NPC customer service.
Since Youyu clearly told the store manager Ito Makoto that he is employing absolutely free labor. Not a single penny needs to be paid, and there's no need to worry about meals or accommodation—it's completely powered by love!
To this, Xue Lang nodded vigorously like a little chicken pecking rice, expressing that yes, I want nothing else, I just want a chance to stay by Youyu's side…
At that moment, Grandpa Makoto had a look of novelty.
Really, in this big world, there's nothing surprising. How can there be such an easygoing fool?
Isn't he possibly a robot?
Grandpa Makoto circled Xue Lang twice, scrutinizing him for a while, even reaching out to pinch his face…
...Hey, the feel is really like that of a living person!
Xue Lang stood there at full attention, as if he were truly playing the role of a dutiful robot.
As a stellar lackey, how could something minor ruin my composure?
Let them see the basic literacy of a sniveling follower!
Chinai, who was already suspicious of this "weirdo," felt even more astonished now.
This person really has issues!
Surely, he has some ideas about our dear Youyu?
However, although Grandpa Makoto and Chinai didn't know, strictly speaking, Xue Lang wasn't exactly working for free.
Because even if there's no food, no drinks, and no wages, whenever Youyu gives Xue Lang tasks, they're edited into missions. In other words, there are experience points and some sporadic rewards—of course, all entirely from Youyu's own pocket.
Moreover, the experience points he gives are way higher than those of typical beginner tasks.
Tasks like completing one Tribute Summon or defeating three passerby NPCs are limited by the number of duels one can have due to stamina, making them quite slow to complete.
But it's different for Xue Lang!
All he needs to do is sweep the floor, stand behind the counter to put on a friendly face, and occasionally, when Youyu's mischievousness kicks in, take on tasks like "go outside and say I love you to the first passerby you encounter" and watch his experience points soar daily.
Since the experience points that can be doled out daily are limited, Youyu cannot possibly distribute them equally among all players. He can only focus on grooming the players he favors.
Take, for instance, the current stage's Xue Lang.
As long as Xue Lang can quickly level up with Youyu's experience points, Xue Lang can receive more Crystal Stone rewards from leveling up and purchase more cards he desires from Youyu's store.
And the Crystal Stones Xue Lang spends end up back in Youyu's pocket, allowing him to keep drawing from the System Card Pool.
So this could also be understood as the process of "converting daily experience limits into Crystal Stones."
Indeed, players are the primary force of production. It's only the first week since the first batch of open-beta players arrived, and Youyu already has over 80,000 Crystal Stones in stock.
The reason he only has 80,000 is, firstly, because he has other commitments and isn't always free to be at the store selling cards… secondly, because they're selling too fiercely, and the stock can't keep up.
No matter how trivial and easy-to-get some cards are, they can't withstand the raging enthusiasm from all players. A hundred of the same cards could be snatched up by eager players in no time.
But it doesn't matter, this profit speed already makes Youyu overjoyed.
Back then, when he played the game himself, when did he ever see such enormous amounts of Crystal Stones?
Getting up early and staying up late to mine, grinding hard to complete quests, currying favor with NPCs laboriously, and yet after a whole week, the stock might not even increase significantly.
Then a round of card pack draws, all bottoms out, a week's hard work all down the drain, GG…
This was the main impression Link World left on Youyu.
And now, staring at the five-digit Crystal Stones in his warehouse...
...just one word, awesome!
No hesitation, just All IN!
Youyu glanced at the Luck Attribute of 20 on his panel and took a deep breath…
According to logic, this Luck Attribute... shouldn't affect the luck of opening packs, right?
He just doesn't believe it. With over 80,000 Crystal Stones here, could it all go down the drain?
If it indeed all goes down… well, then you're tough.
But it doesn't matter! Next week at this time, I'll have this much again, hahaha!
It's certainly not realistic for all to go down. If over 80,000 still couldn't yield anything useful, then it's not just bad luck, that might as well be superpower, something akin to a "Fantasy Killer."
However, according to the usual system behavior, the majority of the cards pulled are still of unclear significance—especially the Elemental Hero series seems to be extraordinarily abundant. Things like Electric Shock Gun, Bubble Shuffle, Hero Kid, which are neither useful nor can entice silly players to spend money.
And there's especially a high output of such cards. Things like Trap Card - Kid Guard, his inventory is nearing a hundred cards…
Of course, there are also some useful cards.
And he noticed after observing… it seems the Black Magician series cards are a bit more frequent?
But on closer thinking, it could also be a misconception. The Elemental Hero series just has too many related items, comparatively the card pool for Black Magician isn't as deep, naturally making it easier to draw something useful.
Honestly, with the help of silly players, Youyu feels the biggest restriction on himself won't long be a lack of money, rather the depth of the respective version's card pool itself…
Like all online games, the Link World Online card pool will definitely not remain the same. With version updates, the card pool will also see new cards and new series added.
This seems only natural. The system couldn't allow players to wield Synchro, XYZ, or even Link decks from the Yu-Gi-Oh! DM and GX eras, and then ramble around the Link era environment—it simply wouldn't be the same game anymore, and decks of the present era wouldn't stand a chance.
So while the System Card Pool may include out-of-era elements like Elemental Hero, they mostly don't conflict with the storyline, or remain within the confines of the existing environment.
Youyu spent the better part of an evening carefully browsing and researching the new cards he drew, comparing them with the cards bought from the store's card packs during this period.
By now, the rule modification overseen by Youyu is nearly complete, and Duel City is expected to officially commence next week. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to change President Haima's stubborn mind in the end, failing to add the new rule that "Fusion Summon can attack in its turn"...
Under such restrictions, Elemental Heroes, heavily reliant on Fusion, are at a pronounced disadvantage.
But after all, in card games, has anyone ever played the same deck until the server shuts down?
Previously there was no choice, but looking at it now... maybe trying a Black Magician deck first wouldn't be a bad idea?