May the Goddess of Luck Bless You

The mist before his eyes faded away layer by layer, as though space itself were collapsing.

Ian suddenly opened his eyes.

On the cramped little bed, Ian shifted his body uncomfortably. The bright moonlight outside the window seemed to drape the room in a layer of silver mist.

A clock hung on the wall.

Its hands pointed to 12:07, while the second hand continued ticking away.

He had entered such a realistic yet surreal dream, but only seven short minutes had passed in reality.

"Whew."

Ian took a deep breath and raised a hand to wipe away the nonexistent sweat from his forehead.

He only felt somewhat dazed. It was mental exhaustion.

Thinking of what had happened in Misty Illusion, he subconsciously looked at the back of his hand and saw a faint white mark.

The small room was still rather dim, lit only by the moonlight.

Ian sat up, walked over to the desk, opened a drawer, and picked out a small flashlight from among various handmade tools. After turning it on, he shone the light onto his arm and examined it carefully.

"What is this?"

Ian curiously examined the gift from his friend.

The faint mark flashed with a fleeting gleam before vanishing completely beneath his skin.

In the dream, he could bring things from reality into it, and he could also bring things out of it. Just like the chocolate he had given Ariana.

But what was this mark for?

Ian did not know.

He tried checking his Skill Panel.

Name: Ian Prince

Class: Bloodline Sorcerer

Magic Power: Level 4

Skills: Language Mastery (Level 3): 23/400

Biology Dissection (Level 4): 796/800

Free Fighting (Level 3): 85/400

Psychology (Level 6): 42/3200

Psychology Extraordinary Trait: Mind Perception

He had been hopeful.

However.

There was no information about the mark on the panel.

Thinking about it, that made sense. This gift from a friend clearly was not a skill. Just like how his ability to enter Misty Illusion could not be found on the panel either.

Perhaps he would need to look up similar cases in the Hogwarts library? That place was said to have the most comprehensive collection of knowledge in the entire magical world. With that thought in mind, Ian rubbed his arm at the desk. Before long, drowsiness washed over him, and he returned to bed and fell asleep.

Time flew by.

Early the next morning.

By the time the sun rose, Ian had already spent quite some time at his desk reading language books.

Successfully read a French word. Language Proficiency +1

Successfully read Latin. Language Proficiency +1

Successfully read Latin. Language Proficiency +1

"Whew."

Ian let out a breath and rubbed his brow.

Learning languages was not easy for him. He had to rely on phonetic notation to pronounce every word, and he also needed to use his memory to firmly remember what each word meant.

Of course.

Hard Work always paid off.

Language Mastery (Level 3): 35/400 (+12)

Just one morning of practice.

Had already raised his proficiency by 12 points.

The day when this skill reached Level 5 and unlocked an Extraordinary Trait was not too far away. With no spells available to learn, there were ultimately only so many practical skills he could choose from.

He just did not know what the Extraordinary Trait for language would be.

Filled with anticipation for the future.

Ian began his day.

After lunch.

He pulled his little cart back to the familiar spot and began his daily fortune-telling stall routine. Calling it fraud might have been a little harsh, but this way of making money ultimately depended on the customer.

Ian appeared to be fiddling with the divination tools and tarot cards on the table. In reality, he relied entirely on the psychology he had taught himself, along with his Psychology Trait, to guess what people were thinking.

To be honest.

Even if he really knew divination, from the perspective of making money, it might not have been as effective as what he was doing—sometimes, people were not always willing to hear the truth.

As Ian called out loudly.

Very soon.

Another woman was drawn over by him and curiously decided to give it a try. Ian observed her clothing, the pauses in her speech, and her eyes and brows as she spoke.

Once he had a good idea.

He blurted out as though he had seen straight into her thoughts.

"Ma'am, you've been under a lot of pressure lately."

The fortune-teller-like words made the woman nod calmly.

It was not difficult to guess.

Ian smiled. "Is it about further education?"

The woman looked a little surprised. "Oh, you're right."

Ian nodded. "Mm. Your advisor has caused you some trouble. You're about to graduate, but if this continues, your advisor clearly won't let you graduate smoothly."

The woman's mouth fell open. It took her quite a while to Come to Her Senses.

This time, her voice trembled, and her tone toward Ian became unconsciously more respectful. "Young fortune-teller, yes, you're right. So what should I do?!"

Successfully observed psychology. Psychology Proficiency +1

The Attribute Panel had improved.

Yet Ian remained unhurried. At this moment, the customer before him had completely entered his "hunting" range.

With his mind-reading ability, he could psychologically control this girl completely.

However, Ian was a man with principles.

"Miss, I'm afraid you'll need to spend a little money to ask the principal to smooth things over for you. But that will be difficult. If you have an amulet, the Goddess of Luck will surely look after you..."

The woman already trusted Ian greatly. Looking at the dazzling variety of amulets he recommended, she asked.

"How much is one? Can I buy them all?"

She looked wealthy, but Ian had not expected her to be this wealthy. What a fat sheep.

Ian immediately said, "Yes, of course. An amulet is only five pounds each."

Ian laid twenty amulets on the table and let her choose.

"I'll take them all! Twenty times the luck!"

The lady bought all twenty amulets and paid a full hundred pounds.

He had truly made a killing.

Those twenty handmade amulets were actually just the foreign version of talismans.

On yellow paper, he had written the English word for luck in scribble-like strokes. That was all.

Still, Ian put on a solemn act and said to the lady, "May the Goddess of Luck bless you."

"Thank you!" The girl clasped her hands together as well, looking utterly devout.

Not long after, he watched the customer leave.

Ian finally smiled.

"Looks like my luck has turned around too. I finished today's quota in one outing. I may as well head back early!"

One hundred pounds was a hefty sum. Its purchasing power was incredible, equivalent to roughly a thousand yuan—and that was in 1990.

Its purchasing power was easy to imagine. It was practically equal to two months of Ian's living expenses.

"I'll close up early today..."

After putting away the money and packing up his fortune-telling stall, Ian pushed his little cart past a restaurant. After some thought, he went inside and bought several pots of soup.

Then, pushing the little cart, he returned to the Orphanage.

"Wow, Ian, what is that?"

The moment he returned to the Orphanage, the Children saw him bringing back so much food. At the sight of Ian's little cart, they practically drooled all over the floor.

It was not just the younger children. Even the slightly older ones could not help running over.

"Hey, Ian!"

After greeting him, they stared eagerly at the soup pots, restraining their craving to eat as they watched.

Ian immediately smiled. He lifted the soup pots onto the table and said to the children.

"All right, everyone, go find some tableware. And wipe your drool while you're at it!"

Hearing Ian's words, everyone burst into laughter.

Very soon, following Ian's instructions, they found tableware, and the children wolfed down the food.

As they ate, someone said.

"Ian, I really envy you. You're about to attend an aristocratic school. Ms. Elena said the headmaster personally invited you!"

"Wow, I want to go too."

"Tom, stop dreaming, okay? Even at the Orphanage, Ian studies on his own every day and reads all kinds of Books! Would you study?"

"An aristocrat noticed Ian because he's smart!"

Listening to everyone's discussion.

Ian was initially a little confused. What aristocratic school? But he soon realized that this was the power of the Confundus Charm.

So, he smiled as he listened to everyone talk, only responding occasionally.

Just then, a girl's voice suddenly Sounded beside him.

"Ian, I know you're not going to an aristocratic school. You're going to Hogwarts. That white-bearded old man said it's a school for wizards who can turn things into candy."

The sudden voice disrupted Ian's Train of Thought, leaving his mind blank.

He turned and looked at the blonde little girl before him.

The little girl looked conflicted. Taking advantage of everyone else's distraction, she pleaded with Ian.

Seeing the longing in her eyes.

Ian suddenly felt as though he had activated some sort of skill. A ringing filled his ears, and amid the noise, he seemed to hear the girl's urgent cry.

I want to go to Hogwarts too. I want to learn magic that can make candy appear out of thin air! Then I'll definitely be the Candy Princess!

Ian shook his head.

The suddenly appearing voice vanished.

This was what Mind Perception could do. Occasionally, he could directly hear the most urgent thoughts in someone's heart.

At this moment.

Everyone was happily playing around and eating soup, while the little girl before him still looked at him with longing in her eyes.

Ian looked at the girl and quickly realized that she might possess magical talent. The Confundus Charm had no effect on her.

That had to be the answer. Otherwise, Dumbledore's magic could not possibly have made such an oversight and allowed a Muggle to hear it.

"Can I, Ian?"

Seeing the little girl's eager expression.

Ian finally recovered from his Astonishment and smiled calmly. "Of course, Catherine, but you have to be good and keep this secret for now..."

"Hogwarts only accepts obedient children."

The blonde little girl named Catherine was overjoyed and wanted to celebrate at once.

Ian hurriedly stopped her. "Catherine, we agreed that this needs to stay secret."

Catherine immediately covered her mouth. "I'm a good girl, I won't tell! Even if the matron breaks my legs, I won't tell!"

Ian: "..."

Nighttime.

In the Orphanage kitchen.

Ian swung the blade in his hand, slaughtering chickens, ducks, and other livestock.

The two cooks beside him kept praising Ian. "Thank you for your help every time, Ian. With you here, we save so much time."

The children needed nourishment, so they had to eat some meat.

And every night, Ian would come to the kitchen to help.

It was because of this.

Successfully slaughtered a chicken. Biology Dissection Proficiency +1

Successfully slaughtered a duck. Biology Dissection Proficiency +1

Successfully slaughtered a duck. Biology Dissection Proficiency +1

That he had obtained the Biology Dissection Trait.

But tonight.

Ding! Congratulations, Biology Dissection Proficiency is full. Successfully leveled up.

Biology Dissection (Level 5): 1/1600

Congratulations, your skill has surpassed Level 5. You have obtained an Extraordinary Trait...