Afraid to Try

The Next Day

Alone in the house after having breakfast with his mother, Luck took two herbs he had not yet tried out of the cupboard and put them in front of him.

"How can I test the effects of these?"

Picking up the red devil flower, Luck glanced down at the dog wagging its tail happily at his feet.

Luck shook his head at the thoughts that fell into his mind.

"If the effects of the red devil flower are as strong as the previous ones, it would be very dangerous to give it to a dog."

"If it's lovers' weed..." a cold sweat ran down Luck's back as he thought about what might happen if he gave lovers' weed to a dog.

The image he had seen on video sites of dogs trying to f*ck their owners came to mind.

After a while, determination appeared in Luck's eyes.

"What am I afraid of now that I have the life fruit?" Luck powdered the red devil flower, mixed the powdered flower with water, and drank it with a moment's courage.

"It doesn't taste bad, just like protein powder..."

"Acghh!!!" 

Luck was suddenly writhing on the ground with sudden pain.

"As he lay there in unbelievable pain while all the muscles in his body tore and healed again, he finally succumbed to the pain and passed out."

Feeling a wetness on his face, Luck woke up in a sweat, his whole body aching.

"What the f*ck?"

Woof! Woof!

Noticing the dog sitting next to him and looking at him, Luck seemed to understand the reason for the wetness on his face.

"come on, you stinking dog."

He was electrocuted when his eye fell on the clock hanging on the wall, it was almost six o'clock and his mother was almost home.

When he reached for the doorknob to open the bathroom door, his hand met no resistance and the door creaked.

When he looked at the door where the crack was coming from, he noticed something was missing.

There was no longer a doorknob on the door. There was a hole where the doorknob should have been.

HUH?!

Luck raised his hand in surprise and looked at his hand. 

What he was holding was the doorknob itself.

The house is rotting all over the place, I'm afraid one day it's going to fall on my head.

Taking off his clothes in the shower, Luck got another shock when he saw himself in the mirror. 

Although he was still thin, he now had muscles that looked as if they had been drawn with a pencil and could explode at any moment with the force.

"What happened to me?"

He ran his hands over the muscles in his stomach and chest to check if they were real.

"Is this the effect of the red devil's weed?"

Have I been lying unconscious on the floor all day?

Luck sniffed himself when he smelled a bad odor.

I don't think I can go to Gliese today, it's late and I'd better take a shower before my mom gets home.

He was amused when he remembered the broken door handle

"Ahhahah, if I go to the gym, how many years will it take to get such a body and strength?"

After a pleasant shower, he ate dinner with his mother and went to bed early.

***

Horace looked relieved to see Luck coming through the door.

"Luck, you're here at last. I thought you weren't coming."

"You thought I wasn't coming? Why is that?"

"When you didn't show up yesterday...well...I...I mean we..."

"We thought you'd given up doing business with us, luck," Halt interjected when he realized Horace was faltering.

 "Why would I stop doing business with you?" Luck asked suspiciously.

This time it was Halt's turn to falter.

"I mean...we...I mean I..."

"They thought you realized they were taking advantage of you, Mr. Luck."

"Shut up." Horace and Halt yelled at Halt's secretary at the same time.

These guys ripped me off, too?

Luck took a deep breath and calmed down, "Did you take advantage of me?"

Halt approached Luck in a fawning manner. His gaze was like a puppy dog realizing his guilt.

"Not Luck, we didn't rip you off as the restaurant manager did, we just made deals where you made money while we increased our share of the profits."

"A lucrative deal?"

"How much profit are you talking about?"

"hehe, Luck, does it matter?"

Horace stepped forward to speak when he noticed Luck's eyes growing cold, but someone else spoke before him.

"Mr. Luck, do you remember the first outfit you brought?"

Surprised by the secretary's question, Luck nodded his head in agreement.

"It was sold to the Lord of the Town for 150 gold pieces..."

"Damn woman, whose side are you on? Why did you explain that?" Halt started stomping his foot angrily.

The secretary's eyes went cold like a dead person's.

"Halt, you think you can berate me at work because I'm your secretary?"

"No, wife. I'm sorry." 

Luck didn't know what to be surprised about.

Huh? Halt's secretary was his wife? My old second-hand suit sold for 150 bucks. How many dollars is

150 gold pieces worth? Should I quit the spice business and go into the dress business?

Calming down, Halt said, "Luck, I know it looks like we tricked you..."

"You've already fooled me.."

"Wife, can you get us some tea?" He quickly found an excuse to push her away.

"Pour your tea! Huh."

Halt's wife, his secretary, left without looking back.

Luck remembered a saying, 'He who f*cks his secretary pours his tea' and it fit the situation perfectly.

After staring after his departing wife for a second, Halt quickly pulled himself together and turned back to Luck.

"Luck, we weren't trying to trick you, the first dress you brought was sold at that price because the count was desperate for a good one, otherwise it would have been worth 50 gold pieces at most."

You gave me five gold pieces."

"Don't sweat the small stuff, Luck.

"The important thing is that Horace and I are thinking of doing business with you for the long term."

Horace nodded like a chicken. "Yeah, Luck, I guarantee we'll get a fairer deal."

"All right, fine. I'll give you another chance."

 Luck looked as if he was reluctant.

"I don't know anyone I could sell to even if I wanted to. For now, I'll have to take advantage of these two. Later, when I've made my contacts, I won't need you.

***

Luck was on his way home from the market with the groceries he had bought.

He was thinking about what he could sell and the conversation he had with Horace and Halt.

After a long talk with Horace and Halt, they made a contract about their new business arrangement.

From now on, Luck would provide Horace and Halt with the materials for their planned joint business for free, while Halt and Horace had to give Luck 70% of the money they earned.

According to the contract, I won't be able to influence the selling price of our joint merchandise, but I will still make a lot of money, if I want to build my connections and reputation, I have to do something.

Lost in thought, Luck walked through the door of the apartment building and as he climbed the stairs, he saw his neighbor's cat peering fearfully out of the open door.

"What a sweet thing you are."

Meow.

"Are you hungry, little one?"

The cat looked at him expectantly, as if it understood what he was saying.

"ahahah, you're hungry."

Luck took a piece of sausage out of the shopping bag and was about to give the cat the salami when he paused for a second and sprinkled a piece of the lovers' weed left in his pocket on the sausage and gave it to the cat.

A mischievous smile appeared on his face 

"Enjoy your meal, little one."