ᚨᛚᛚ ᛁᛋ ᚹᛖᛚᛚ ᚠᛟᚱ ᚤᛟᚢ

Chapter 3

    About five minutes after Joel initiated the withdrawal, the money—after the platform's service fees were deducted—was transferred into his account. Seeing his bank balance increase by several hundred pounds made Joel roll around joyfully on his bed. He planned to go out and buy some groceries. Even though delivery services were popular in this era, Joel much preferred walking out to pick his own things.

    Part of that was because… he did not know how to place an order. Heh-heh.

    Just one stream had earned him enough tips from viewers to get by for about a month, living frugally. But knowing himself, he would probably lose to the allure of shiny gemstones again. So, he planned to stream every day, saving up as much as he could. It was a way to earn money and find something to do in his never-ending life.

[MamaBearNumberOne] Streamer, it’s me—the one who won the transformation potion.

    His message inbox was filled with dozens of messages from followers, one of them from MamaBearNumberOne, the lucky winner of the transformation potion.

[Joel's Cauldron] Hello, MamaBearNumberOne. Congratulations. You can go ahead and send me your address. I’ll head to the post office and ship it out within an hour.

[MamaBearNumberOne] Why not just call for a courier to pick it up from your house?

[Joel's Cauldron] Ah… well, I’m not very good with technology.

[MamaBearNumberOne] Well then. If you ever need help with anything, streamer, just tell me—I’ll teach you myself!

[Joel's Cauldron] Thank you so much.

[MamaBearNumberOne] Hey, hey, can I ask you something?

[Joel's Cauldron] If I can answer, I’ll tell you.

[MamaBearNumberOne] What kind of contact lenses are you wearing? They’re so beautiful—I want to buy some.

[Joel's Cauldron] Ah… my eyes have always been like this. Once I mastered my own specialized magic, they turned out this way.

[MamaBearNumberOne] And when you said you’ve lived so long you stopped counting—can you give a rough estimate? Or at least a time period?

    The pale-skinned man read the question, then turned his gaze out the window. He was not even sure what era he had been born in. And he did not know how the other person would react if he told them. Would they fear him? Because in one chapter of his life, Joel had already learned what human fear could do.

[Joel's Cauldron] Hmm… how do I say this so I don’t scare you? Haha.

[MamaBearNumberOne] Saying that only makes it even more suspicious, you know. Hahaha.

    Joel lay chatting with MamaBearNumberOne for a while longer before excusing himself to take care of errands. In the end, she still did not know his age. The slender white wizard rose and walked into the wardrobe room next to his bedroom and bathroom. He chose a pair of vintage light brown shorts and a white turtleneck sweater, then grabbed a matching newsboy cap to pop on his head. It was a style Joel really liked—even if it made his already youthful body look even younger by several more years.

    “Romeo, I’m going out to buy some supplies. Is there anything special you’d like to eat today?”

    Meowwwwwww

    The black cat stretched and lazily twisted his body once before swishing his tail toward the front door. His soft paw reached out to swipe at the air, then he turned back to look at Joel, signaling that Romeo wanted to tag along for the shopping trip. The white wizard bent down to put on his shoes, grabbed a black shoulder bag, slipped the transformation potion inside, and walked out of the house side by side with Romeo.

    The weather was quite pleasant today, so Joel chose to ride his broomstick to the shopping mall instead of taking public transportation. His opalescent eyes scanned the garden, searching for his broom, which he found busy sweeping dried leaves into neat piles, waiting for Joel to collect them for compost. The small figure walked over, grabbed the handle, and dragged the broom toward the front of the house. But the broom seemed to be enjoying its leaf-sweeping task, twitching its bristles stubbornly as it was being dragged along.

    By the time Joel finally left the house, it was already afternoon. He headed toward the mall, with Romeo perched steadily on all fours atop the broom’s handle. The mall Joel was heading to needed to be pet-friendly, allowing animals to accompany their owners without issue. But before buying any groceries, he had to stop by the post office to deliver the potion.

    Parcel delivery these days was quite secure, as magic was used to cushion impacts, guaranteeing that every package would arrive without a scratch and without being tampered with or lost along the way. Once the package was safely sent, Joel and Romeo headed over to the market zone to buy fresh food and supplies for the plump black cat.

    Romeo wanted salmon, so Joel decided to buy an entire fish to fillet himself—it was cheaper than buying pre-sliced cuts. He also picked up some meat, milk, eggs, and a few other seasonings, then pushed the cart toward the checkout counter with the fat black cat perched on his shoulder.

    “Would you like a bag? They’re free today.”

    “No, thank you. I brought my own.”

    He unhooked his small shoulder bag, and his slender hands carefully packed the purchased items inside, one by one. The cashier watched, dumbfounded, as all the goods disappeared neatly into the bag. The man in front of her had to be either very rich or a magic user—only those kinds of people would carry an enchanted bag like that while shopping.

    As Joel made his way toward the broom parking zone, his opalescent eyes caught sight of a photography equipment shop. He remembered that if he wanted to upgrade his stream quality, the first thing he needed to improve was his camera. Currently, he was using his half new, half old smartphone that could break down any day. If he wanted to impress his viewers more, he would need to buy a proper streaming camera.

    “Hello there—ah, y... you’re the wizard streamer, aren’t you?”

    The moment Joel stepped into the store, the staff member enthusiastically approached him, offering assistance before excitedly greeting, recognizing him by his opalescent, pupil-less eyes.

    “Oh, you know me?”

    “Of course. I recognize your eyes—and Romeo too.”

    Upon hearing his name, Romeo stood on his hind legs and waved a front paw in greeting, nearly making the young employee’s heart melt into a puddle.

    “Are you looking for a streaming camera?”

    “I’m just here to do some research for now. I don’t really have that kind of money at the moment.”

    “Just choosing to walk into our shop already makes me happy. I’ll give you a full rundown—you’ll get all the information you need.”

    The staff member gestured for him to follow, leading him deeper into the section specifically for streaming cameras.

    Honestly, Joel felt he had made the right decision walking into a store with such a good employee. He could still remember the feeling of being shunned back when ordinary society was not as welcoming to magic users. Experiencing such a warm welcome now, he had already set his heart on buying from this shop when the time came.

    “Is there any specific model you’re interested in, Mr. Joel?”

    “Not at all. Honestly, I didn’t think there would be this many cameras these days.”

    The staff member introduced him to several streaming devices, but if Joel wanted top-tier quality—sharp visuals, taste, scent, sound, and touch—the staff recommended something called the V-LiveBox. It was a small white box, about the size of a small parcel, with all-in-one functions. Of course, with quality like that, the price was not going to be kind. The V-LiveBox was priced at 2,323 pounds.

    Judging from Joel’s recent earnings, it looked like he would need to stream for about half a year before he could afford it—without sacrificing his and Romeo’s living expenses.

    The staff member did not pressure him or try to push the sale. In the end, Joel thanked him and left the shop with a product brochure in hand. In his heart, he was firmly resolved: the day he had enough money, he would come back and buy from this staff member.

    After browsing here and there for a while longer, Joel quickly brought Romeo back home on the broomstick. Along the way, people glanced at him and whispered more than a few times—but Joel, used to being the center of attention because of his unusual eyes, felt nothing. He had grown accustomed to strange looks and murmurs long ago. The broomstick glided down into the herb garden beside Joel’s Victorian-style house. The broom immediately rushed off to resume sweeping leaves diligently, while the black cat sauntered into the house to wait for dinner in the kitchen.

    The evening meal passed in warmth and contentment for the wizard and the black cat. Romeo dined on salmon steak with premium kibble, while Joel had ground tenderloin steak with truffle mushroom sauce and his own home-brewed grape wine. His pale skin flushed pink from the effects of the alcohol.

    What should he do for his next stream? He had already demonstrated potion brewing in the first one, so this time he should probably do something different—keep the audience from getting bored too soon. His pale hand lifted a glass of wine, swirling it gently and inhaling the aroma of fine Cabernet Sauvignon, aged for over fifty-two years. The deep red color of the wine reminded him of garnet and ruby.

    “Hmm… should I introduce energy stones next time…”

    It seemed like a good idea. He had a decent collection of minerals and lucky gemstones in his storage room. Maybe he could select five types to showcase as examples during the stream. Joel waved his hand three times through the air, and just like that, the dishes he had finished using floated over to the sink to clean themselves. The white wizard rose from the dining table and walked to the staircase of the house. It collapsed into a path leading to his underground collection room.

    Since minerals and gemstones came from the earth, storing them underground and away from sunlight helped preserve their natural energy for longer periods.

    Even though he loved seeing these stones shine under sunlight—where their brilliant sparkle could make him dizzy. This room had multiple layers of anti-theft mechanisms, and most importantly, no musty smell. Joel cleaned it regularly, sweeping and dusting to keep everything pristine.

    “Ah… incredible.”

    Joel hugged himself, his entire body shuddering at the overwhelming natural energy in this place. Housing over ten thousand pieces of minerals and gemstones collected over his lifetime, this space was a paradise for a white wizard like Joel, who relied on nature’s power to sustain himself.

    The small white wizard clenched his fists tightly. From now on, he would work hard to save up and collect even more stones—even if it meant streaming for months straight. For the sake of minerals and gemstones, Joel could do it!! He carefully picked out his favorite stones, placing them into a box lined with synthetic fiber padding. Then, carried the box upstairs.

    He set them up in the same room where he had previously streamed the potion-making, spending a bit of time arranging everything just right. Afterward, he took a bath, preparing for bed so he could wake up fresh for the next morning’s stream. But before closing his eyes, he could not help but pester Miguel with messages—Miguel was busy preparing the bar for the nighttime crowd. Unsurprisingly, Miguel shooed him off to bed as usual.

    The next morning, Joel woke up early to water the herbs in the garden beside his house. He spent quite a while there, gathering up the leaves the broomstick had swept into piles and dumping them into the compost bin. By the time everything was finished, it was nearly nine a.m.

    The slender wizard hurried into the kitchen to prepare breakfast for Romeo and himself, quickly eating and then rushing to shower so he could be ready by eleven o’clock—an auspicious time he had determined would bring in a good haul from streaming.

    [Please specify your stream’s topic.]

    “The topic is ‘Introduction to Natural Energy Stones and Gemstones.’”

    [Confirm topic: ‘Introduction to Natural Energy Stones and Gemstones’—yes or no?]

    “Confirm.”

    [The system will begin countdown to start streaming in 5 4 3 2 1]

    As the countdown finished, the number in the top-left corner of the screen jumped from 0 to 4,000, and it kept climbing every second. Joel stumbled back in shock. Why were so many people tuning into his stream? Maybe that auspicious time he had calculated really was paying off.