"Traveler? Doesn't sound like anything impressive. Does it mean I'll grow stronger the more I wander the world? Not exactly what I hoped for, but at least it's not a talent for helping others." Staring at the unknown talent, Chen Luo finally exhaled in relief.
Sure, the Traveler talent seemed underwhelming, but anything was better than being forced into endless good deeds.
Call it "helping others" all you want—Chen Luo knew the truth. He was just a glorified tool.
Not that he had anything against kindness, but when generosity became routine, people started expecting it.
Chen Luo still understands the matter of gratitude and resentment.
But just as he began inspecting his Traveler interface, his body locked up. There, staring back at him, was something horrifying:
[Commission List]
Fuck, isn't this still helping others?
Damn it!
The traveler interface had four main tabs:
[Home]
[Commissions]
[Friends]
[Inventory]
A few other options existed, grayed out and unreadable. But before Chen Luo could explore further, that Commission List made his head throb.
[Commissions]
(Helping others is a virtue. Good deeds bear good fruit. Aiding strangers on your journey may yield unexpected rewards.)
Though the description made his stomach churn, one small mercy stood out: The list was empty.
The [Home] tab displayed a 3D chibi version of Chen Luo, alongside his stats:
Name: Chen Luo
Gender: Male
Age: 17
Title: Saint Chen (Gold): As a "good person," you gain trust more easily—and are more likely to receive commissions.
HP: 100%
Primogems: 0
...
Chen Luo's face turned black when he saw this. Good guy, do good people deserve to be ordered around? Do good people deserve to be tools?
[Friends]
0/50
"...Is this mocking me for having no friends?"
"I DO have friends! …Just not many."
"Quality over quantity, okay?!"
Finally, his most anticipated feature: [Inventory].
Ah, the inventory. Chen Luo knew about this thing, isn't it just a storage space? It's like this in all games. What game doesn't allow you to put things in your inventory? Can an inventory that can't hold things still be called an inventory? And logically, a new system should include a starter pack, right?" A system without a novice gift pack, is it still called a system?
Chen Luo clicked into the interface with excitement, and then... and then found nothing.
Damn! I almost forgot, this is indeed not a system, it's my talent.
It's all because this thing looks so much like a system that Chen Luo thought it was a system.
The interface had tricked him with its game-like design.
Disappointment hit hard.
"The higher the hopes, the harder the fall."
And worst of all is that this traveler who claims to be an EX-level talent, no matter how Chen Luo looked at it, he didn't find anything amazing.
Well, it's just mediocre in various aspects, Chen Luo doesn't even know how to use this thing.
"What a garbage talent. All that hype for nothing."
Chen Luo instantly felt deflated.
The problem was—he couldn't feel happy about this.
[Ding! You have 1,000 Primogems waiting to be claimed. Claim now?]
"...???"
The moment that voice rang out, Chen Luo's entire body jolted.
For some inexplicable reason, just hearing the word "Primogems" sent a surge of energy through him.
"Why do I have 1,000 Primogems?" He couldn't make sense of it.
This was a talent, not a game system—where would a "newbie bonus" come from?
But then, a flood of fragmented, indescribable memories suddenly poured into his mind.
[User Manual]
After a moment of dizziness, Chen Luo rubbed his aching temples in annoyance.
"You had a manual this whole time and didn't show it earlier?!"
After Chen Luo took a while, he finally processed the information.
Turns out, those 1,000 Primogems were the reward for his nearly 1,000 good deeds.
It could've been more, but since his talent wasn't fully awakened back then, the system had a hard cap of 1,000 Primogems.
However, the "excess" goodwill he'd accumulated wasn't wasted—it converted into beginner's luck, guaranteeing his first 10-pull would include an ultra-rare 5-star item, the kind that's one in a million. After this, the luck bonus would vanish.
…Okay, that still sounded like a pretty sweet deal.
Primogem Sources:
Completing commissions/helping others.
Defeating enemies.
Discovering breathtaking scenery.
Unlocking bizarre achievements.
These Primogems could be used for gacha pulls and… buying skills?
Gacha System: Unlocks at 1,600 Primogems. The pool contains everything—from planet-destroying warships to cans of soda, even character cards (yes, "2D waifus" included). But as for what you can really draw in the end? Pure RNG.
Skill Shop: Lets you purchase talents/skills from others—but only if they're your [Friends].
In short, for this Traveler Talent, Primogems are omnipotent.
The premise of purchasing skills is that the other party must be your friend. That's right, if the other party is not your friend, then you can only beat the other party to death and see if you can drop any skill scrolls or something.
In that case, the skill scrolls obtained are random, and there is a high possibility that they are not the skills you want.
The more Chen Luo looks at this traveler's talent, the more it looks like a game.
And beating to death... Is it really good to be so violent?
However, Chen Luo glanced at his empty friend slot and fell silent instantly.
A thought struck him:
If, Chen Luo meant if. If he could find a way to kill a Water Bear, would he be able to obtain the Water Bear's almost immortal ability?
In terms of general rationality, it is probably possible, but the premise is that the Water Bear will really be identified as an [enemy] by the traveler talent.
[Ding-dong!]
The bell rang—school was out.
The last class on Friday afternoon is always the most tiring, but Chen Luo was immersed in all kinds of weird things throughout the class, so he felt that time passed quickly.
"Chen Luo, I'm on cleaning duty, but I've got an emergency. Help me out?" A classmate slid up to his desk the second the teacher left.
[Ding! New Commission Received.]
[Clean the Classroom]: Because he is in a hurry to meet his girlfriend, the classmate who doesn't want to clean at all wants you to help clean.
Reward: 5 Primogems
Difficulty: 0 stars
"I mean…" Chen Luo hesitated.
Sure, it was pathetic—but Primogems are Primogems.
[Ding! New Commission!]
[Shelter the Herrscher of Sentience] (limited-time commission): The Herrscher of Sentience, who was just defrauded by her mother through telecom fraud,[1] was dragged into the space-time channel by the space-time turbulence and was seriously injured. Go and give her a home!
Reward: 600 Primogems + Any Weapon Mastery
Difficulty: 0 stars
Time Left: 20 mins
(Limited-time commission. If you fail to arrive at the commission location to accept the commission after the time limit, it will automatically disappear)
(Note: Extremely rare. Choose wisely.)
"Is it okay? Thank you." The male classmate said without any gratitude.
"Alas..." Chen Luo's classmate sighed.
Wouldn't it take 20 minutes for one person to clean up? I can only help him myself. What sin have I committed, how could I have such a classmate?
"SURE YOUR ASS! CLEAN YOUR OWN DAMN CLASSROOM!"
5 Primogems?! Was he a beggar?!
TOOLMAN? NOT TODAY!
"Hope you get stabbed by a blue lancer on your way out!!!" Chen Luo flipped him off, vaulted over the desk, and sprinted out of the classroom like his life depended on it.
The classmate and classmate stood frozen, jaws dropped.
The difference was that Chen Luo's classmate had a flash of surprise in her eyes.
TL Note:
[1]: A meme in China Senti got tricked by her mother (Hua)