Unlucky Year

"Damn, it's a ghost in the game. Sh*t, it really scared me."

"Damn, it was you just now?"

Manster•Moonwalker's ghost said, "You b*stard! You killed me! You even wear my skin! You will pay for this! Curse you! May curses fall upon you!" The Archdruid's ghost floated in the air and ran through Xiao Yu. It did not deal any damage.

Xiao Yu was slightly confused. In the game, ghosts should be considered as a form of Undead monster. How could it not deal any damage at all? Not only that, it did not even have a health bar! It did not make any sense at all.

Merlin (Astral Mytique Mage) said, "Be gone! Here is no place for a lowly creature like you!" Merlin pointed his staff at the ghost and a beam of green light shot from it and vaporized the ghost. It disappeared into thin air.

After taking out the Archdruid's ghost, Merlin looked at Xiao Yu smilingly and said, "See? I told you, there's a ghost around you."

Xiao Yu was caught between laughter and tears. He had thought what Merlin meant in reality. How could he know that he was referring to the game? Indeed, there was no such thing as ghosts in the real world.

However, spending $100 to get rid of a ghost in the game seemed to be a bad idea. He was also curious about the skill Merlin had casted just now. It was a skill that he had never seen before. Merlin was indeed mysterious.

"Erm… Thanks. Here are 100 Scroll Points. What is a fortune teller doing in a game, anyway?"

Merlin (Astral Mytique Mage) answered, "I used to be a fortune teller, but nowadays, I just stay at home every day and my business is really bad out there on the street. I have to feed my family you see, so I came to the game and provided my services. It turns out that there are many such ghosts in the game, and now, chasing them away is part of my service too."

"Ghost? He means Undead?"

Xiao Yu asked, "So the fortunes you tell apply to reality too?"

Merlin (Astral Mytique Mage) said, "No, no, no. Those two are completely different."

Xiao Yu did not buy what he was saying. How could a character in a game have any fortune to tell?

He asked a trick question. "So, what do you use for telling fortunes in game? Physiognomy or horoscopes?"

Merlin (Astral Mytique Mage) answered, "Either way works. Actually, you can tell a lot from a character's look. Although some look really out of norm, there is a pattern to follow. I did not think about it initially, but slowly figured it out."

"Also, horoscopes work in the game too, just like in reality. As long as you know how to do it, you can do it anywhere."

This old guy looked like some professional, with some nonsensical words in his month.

Xiao Yu did not believe a single word he had said. He believed that the ghost he had managed to catch just now was due to some skill, like Inspect or Third Eye. The skill he had used to take out the ghost was probably something like Rest in Peace or Anti-Evil. It was just that he had not seen the skill before. He was pretty sure that the fortune telling was a bluff.

Eric (Flame Warlock) asked, "How much does it cost for you to do a fortune telling session?"

Merlin (Astral Mytique Mage) answered, "70 in reality and 60 in game. If you need both, I'll give you a discount—just 100 will do."

Eric (Flame Warlock) said, "Then help me take a look. How will my character be in the future?"

"I'm going to be dead soon. If you dare to say anything like 'you will be the strongest of all', I'll bust you right away!"

The old man stared at Xiao Yu for a while and said, "Erm… There is a dark spot on your forehead. At first I thought it was just because of that ghost. But it's still there… It even got worse now… There seems to be another reason for it. If I'm not wrong, you character will die very soon, in no more than a month."

Xiao Yu was surprised by what he had heard. "How is this possible? Is it possible that he saw my Flame Mark with some special skill? Just like how he spotted the ghost?"

"Do you think I can ever escape that?"

Merlin (Astral Mytique Mage) answered, "There is a way indeed. But it was caused by greed, so only you can save yourself."

Xiao Yu was even more shocked. Indeed, he was able to save himself. As long as he submitted the Elemental Seed to Carax, not only could he survive, there was a decent chance to be rewarded too. Too bad he would not do that.

He started to respect this old man.

Eric (Flame Warlock) said, "Wow. That's amazing. What about in reality? Can you tell me something too?"

He gave Merlin his name and date and time of birth. He believed that the skills he had were not possible to help him in telling fortune in reality. If he could really do that, Xiao Yu would be willing to call him God.

The old man fondled with his beard for a moment and frowned. After some time, he was relaxed again. It was amazing how the game made such detailed expressions on players.

Merlin (Astral Mytique Mage) said, "I got it! You will be having an unlucky year."

Xiao Yu's heart stopped for a moment. That was exactly what he was afraid of. He could have laughed it away before he knew what Merlin was capable of. It was only normal for fortunetellers to come up with something bad and con people for more money.

Xiao Yu trusted this old man slightly and asked, "So, do I need to spend money to stop this bad luck?"

The old man shook his head.

Merlin (Astral Mytique Mage) answered, "Nah, that is not necessary. This is called 'Near Miss' or 'Surprising Shock'. It looked dangerous, but it is actually nothing serious. As long as you maintain a calm and normal attitude, it will not affect you much. If you meet anything that is not in your favor, do not be too alarmed. It will go by quickly."

Xiao Yu was surprised that he did not need to spend more money. It was either because this old man was not greedy and was okay with the $100, or he was the real deal. It was no use to ponder this question now, one year could pass real quick. It would not be late to judge this old man after a year. If what he had said was not true, $100 was not really a big issue.

If what he had said was true, as long as he did not overreact, it should pass smoothly.

Xiao Yu nodded and said, "Sure, I'll thank you in advance." He handed over 100 Scroll Points and added Merlin as a friend.

He accepted the friend request.

When he was done, Blake Rhode appeared. "You ready? It will be your turn soon."

The five Adventurers had killed the second boss during this time.

"I'm ready. I'll be right there," Xiao Yu said. Then he waved goodbye to the old man and followed Blake Rhode to the arena.