Drawing a Circle to Curse You

Favorability -10.

Bai Jin's favorability plummeted, and Yang Yu's mindset instantly collapsed.

Why did her favorability crash like an avalanche just because I went over and struck up a conversation? That shouldn't be happening. I'm pretty handsome, after all.

Or was she a girl who had been hurt by a scumbag, and what I had just done was a little too much like something a scumbag would do, creating some strange misunderstanding between us?

Or was my charm simply too low?

There were too many possibilities, so Yang Yu simply gave up thinking about it.

Yang Yu still knew nothing about the girl's personality. If he blindly guessed and acted, who knew whether her favorability would rise or fall? Besides, if he wanted her to become his companion, he had to show her his sincerity. Playing flashy tricks would only put the cart before the horse.

"I'm sorry. Please forget what I just said. I'll get straight to the point—I hope you'll become my companion." Yang Yu extended the invitation sincerely.

The number above Bai Jin's head rose back to 17. "Why are you inviting me? You only met me for the first time today."

"Well, that's—"

Just as Yang Yu was about to explain, a burly uncle with thick brows and big eyes patted him on the shoulder.

"Young man, I'd advise you to give up."

"Why?"

Lowering his voice, the uncle cautiously warned Yang Yu, "Bad things often happen when people go on missions with this kid. The depressing things she says almost always come true. Many teams that have gone on missions with her have ended up missing arms and legs. To put it bluntly, she's a jinx. Staying with her will only bring misfortune."

Even though he had lowered his voice, Bai Jin, who was not far away, still heard every word clearly. But she did not deny it. She simply acted as though she had heard nothing, lowered her head, and continued chewing on the dry sweet potato strips.

"Nothing but misfortune if I stay with her? You believe that superstitious nonsense?" Yang Yu smiled faintly.

Her Luck is ten times mine. If teaming up with her brings misfortune, then it's purely because I suck!

Besides, her curse resistance is so high, and she even has the Frail attribute. She's obviously a rare character. Maybe once her frailty is removed, she'll become the main damage dealer of my team. Only an idiot would believe you and give up on her.

Based on his years of gaming experience, Yang Yu firmly believed that a character with Bai Jin's attributes was a key figure in some hidden storyline. Letting go now would make him a complete fool.

"The reason those teams ran into trouble was probably that they ignored her advice and insisted on doing things their own way. In the end, to cover up their own mistakes, they dumped all the blame on this helpless girl."

Several young adventurers in the tavern guiltily looked away. They had originally been watching the show, but now none of them said another word.

"But sometimes, even when others treat this child kindly, she treats them... Well, you'll understand once you talk to her."

The kindhearted uncle had wanted to say more, but when he saw the look in Yang Yu's eyes that said he would never give up, he shook his head and turned away.

Once the guild became noisy again, Yang Yu looked at Bai Jin. The dried sweet potatoes on her plate were already gone, but her hands rested awkwardly at the edge of the white plate, as though she did not know where to put them. The favorability above her head had also returned to 19.

"You should answer my question from earlier now, right? Why are you inviting me? You only met me for the first time today." Afraid Yang Yu had forgotten, Bai Jin repeated her question.

"Because you look very strong. That's all."

"That's all?"

"That's all."

Bullshit. If I weren't after your Intelligence of over 200, plus that favorability nearing 20, I wouldn't have come over to ask you to team up with me.

This answer did not change Bai Jin's favorability again, but she suddenly grabbed Yang Yu and began breathing heavily.

"Are you really sure you want to team up with me? As you can see, I'm a gloomy, suspicious person. The magic I use is all just like me—dark curse magic that looks useless. I'm also plagued by illness, and I might really bring misfortune. Someone like me... someone like me... are you still willing to recruit me?" Bai Jin's voice gradually sank, taking on the faint air of an evil witch. "Tell me the truth. If you dare lie to me, I'll curse you. I'll curse you for the rest of my life. Hehehe, the sight of you betraying your oath and dying miserably in the end! Hahaha, I can see it!"

Her chilling words echoed beside his ears. The hollow gaze faintly visible beneath her hair stabbed at his nerves like a sharp knife. Yang Yu's scalp went numb. At last, he understood why this girl's charm was negative—and why she always ended up taking the blame.

Miss, could you change the way you talk? Acting like this, even if you aren't a villain, people will think you are one.

Yang Yu let out a long sigh and asked, "Are you a curse mage?"

"That's right. Are you backing out?" Bai Jin's face darkened as she gave a hollow chuckle. "It's not too late to back out now. But if you dare deceive me, I'll keep cursing you even after I become a ghost."

"Do you know any curse magic that reduces healing or regeneration?"

"Of course. That kind of boring magic is child's play to me. I know even stronger spells, ones that use life as the price—"

"Then there's no problem. You aren't allowed to back out."

Yang Yu grabbed Bai Jin's hand in return. Her hand was white as congealed cream, slender and weak as though it would break at a touch, but Yang Yu still held on tightly, afraid the duck already in his hands would fly away.

"Eh?"

Bai Jin's gloomy expression changed again in an instant. Flustered, she blushed and quickly pulled her hand away. The favorability above her head shot up several points in a row, becoming 32.

Success!

A party function had been added to the system panel. When he opened it, Bai Jin was listed there, and he could see all her attributes and skills.

After taking a look, Yang Yu could not help laughing. This time, he had truly found a treasure.

Aside from the basic magic attack skills [Ice Arrow] and [Fireball], she also had the small-area AOE skills [Ice Spike] and [Dark Lightning Surge]. Her curse-type support skills were even more varied. Not only did she have [Weapon Corrosion] and [Armor Corrosion], which lowered attack and defense, but she also had [Curse of Misfortune], which reduced critical damage and critical hit chance.

For an unlucky player like Yang Yu, what he feared most was being taken out by a single critical hit. This skill could pull others down to the same starting line, allowing Yang Yu to defeat them with his extensive gaming experience.

The skill that surprised Yang Yu the most was [Healing Prohibition], which would be useful in the early, middle, and late game alike. It prevented enemies from healing or regenerating, halved the HP of resurrected enemies, cost 100 MP, and lasted for an hour. Its cooldown was only one minute!!!

My, my, my, this girl was practically the king of cost-effectiveness. She was only level 12, yet she already had so many skills and such high Intelligence. By level 100, wouldn't she be soaring into the sky and standing shoulder to shoulder with the sun?

The only flaw was that her mana pool was insufficient, so she could not throw out skills casually. But as long as her mana and mana regeneration were built up, she would become the ultimate counterpick in the late game.