ᛗᚨᚤ ᛚᚨᛞᚤ ᛚᚢᚲᚴ ᚡᛁᛋᛁᛏ ᚤᛟᚢᚱ ᚺᛟᛗᛖ ᛏᛟᛞᚨᚤ

Chapter 5

    “The next one I’ll introduce is bismuth.”

    A strange-looking stone was lifted and placed on the island. Joel’s stream viewership had now soared to half a million. The donation total sat at 5,920 coins, which was an incredible amount for someone who had only been streaming for two days.

    “Bismuth helps balance energy in the body, improves circulation, and is great for people looking to practice meditation.”

    Bismuth was a heavy metal element with a white-pinkish crystal structure. Chemically, it was similar to arsenic and antimony. It was used in medicine, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. Bismuth crystals occurred both in free form and mineral form, and they were considered some of the most beautiful and rare natural crystals.

    It originates primarily in Russia and is a highly sought-after collectible for alchemy enthusiasts and stone lovers.

    [Number8: Joel is definitely rich. A bismuth chunk the size of a child’s head—don’t even ask about the price.]

    [MamaBearNumberOne: //Donated 100 coins with a message// I love this one. It’s so beautiful and unique.]

    [GigiIsSpeed: //Donated 500 coins with a message// Streamer, do you have any stones that help with love? I’ve never had luck in love—just got dumped like an old shoe, even though I gave it my all.]

    “Thank you, MamaBearNumberOne and GigiIsSpeed, for the donations. The last stone I’ll introduce today actually enhances love energy. It’s called rose quartz.”

    Joel lifted the final stone onto the table. A pink crystal gleamed brightly, drawing a flood of heart stickers from stone lovers, making the chat unreadable for about two minutes. The MamaBears, self-proclaimed protectors, also rushed to donate like crazy, especially since Joel leaned close to the camera, struggling to keep up with the messages.

    His plump lips pressed together, eyebrows furrowed just slightly, and his beautiful face paired with his strange-colored eyes made viewers on the other side of the screen nearly forget to breathe—including a certain someone who had just signed up to watch Joel’s stream.

    “You guys are sending so many messages, I can’t keep up. But thank you all so much for the support. Rose quartz carries the energy of love and forgiveness.”

    Rose quartz referred to the light pink to deep pink variety of quartz. It was quite common and found in large quantities around the world, often in large chunks. Its pink color came from tiny inclusions of dumortierite minerals, which gave rose quartz its translucent rather than transparent quality.

    This stone had been a symbol of love since 600 BC and remained a powerful talisman for relationships. It was effective in attracting love, romance, intimacy, and in nurturing relationships with family and friends, fostering connection within groups.

    “In terms of healing, rose quartz helps to dispel anger, hatred, and jealousy. For those who are heartbroken or feeling disheartened in love, it also helps to foster self-love.”

    Self-love did not mean being happy all the time—it was perfectly normal to feel sad, angry, discouraged, or disappointed. But self-love meant appreciating yourself for growing through your past thoughts and actions, accepting both your strengths and weaknesses, valuing yourself, and believing your efforts matter. Joel wanted everyone watching his stream to turn that love inward and learn to love themselves too.

    “When we’re in love, we often love others more than ourselves—whether it’s out of sincerity or the desire to give them the best. But sometimes, we forget that we need love, too. I’m rooting for you. I hope from now on you’ll meet good people who love you—just like you love yourself.”

    [JellyfishJelly: //Donated 100 coins with a message// Streamer, you’re such a good person.]

    [WantedFriedNoodlesButGotSturFried: //Donated 200 coins with a message// I can really feel the streamer’s concern. From now on, I’ll love myself more!]

    [HubbySneakingFromWifey: //Donated 1,000 coins with a message// Well said!!]

    [Daddy J: //Donated 10,000 coins//]

    For donations over 5,000 coins, an on-screen firework effect would burst across everyone’s screen to celebrate the streamer. The fireworks set off just now left Joel’s lively chat in dead silence. Joel, who was about to wrap up and thank his viewers, froze in place. His pupil-less opalescent eyes widened in shock as he brought his hand to his chest.

    Did… someone had just donated 10,000 coins to him???

    “Uh… um, Daddy J, did you maybe press the wrong number for that donation?”

    Joel felt deeply concerned. That kind of money was not small, and if the donor had made a mistake, he was ready to refund it. The stream chat went silent for another five seconds before the fireworks went off again—followed by a message from the donor.

    [Daddy J: //Donated 10,000 coins with a message// I didn’t press the wrong button.]

    With 20,000 coins earned from just two livestreams, Joel had sparked a phenomenon in the streaming world. The fireworks effect appeared on the front page of the platform, drawing in waves of online users to Joel’s stream. The viewer count now surged past one million!!

    [MamaBearNumberOne: Holy crap. Did my baby just snag a millionaire!!!]

    [HereToBuyMomNoodles: Those contact lenses are gorgeous—wait, magic user???]

    [WantedFriedNoodlesButGotSturFried: @HubbySneakingFromWifey You’re not the channel’s top donor anymore.]

    [Uranus: My beautiful streamer is totally shocked, hahaha.]

    [HubbySneakingFromWifey: //Donated 500 coins with a message// @WantedFriedNoodlesButGotSturFried, after seeing that amount, I gotta surrender.]

    [DontFlirtOrI’llCrushYourBalls: Even if you’re a rich magic user, who wouldn’t be shocked by a donation that big!]

    “Um, ah… thank you so much, Daddy J. I’m really shocked but also so, so happy.”

    It was the first time Joel smiled so widely, his aura of happiness radiating outward, making the hearts of his viewers tremble. The god of wealth had to be smiling upon him.

    Daddy J's donation alone would allow him to survive for half a year, and he would still have enough left over to buy the V-LiveBox and several more minerals.

    Meanwhile, Jaden furrowed his perfectly shaped brows in frustration. He could not wait for his secretary to dig up information on this streamer. Something inside him felt restless, like he was afraid something important would slip away. So, he asked Leroy to set up an account on Uccello Live and had been watching Joel’s stream ever since.

    His good-for-nothing friend lived up to his title as one of the platform’s main shareholders, showing him how to use everything—even how to donate. So Jaden gave it a try, donating just to see if that beautiful person on the stream would notice him. But what had him sitting there now, scowling, was the username his mischievous friend had set for him.

    Daddy J. It was clearly short for Daddy Jaden. The muscular man mentally noted this little stunt of Leroy’s, but for now, he tolerated the username since he did not know how to change it. The smile from the person on the screen made his long-frozen heart feel warm and oddly complete, and in the end, he could not take his eyes off Joel at all.

    Back on Joel’s side, after streaming for a good while, he felt it was a good time to wrap up, bid farewell to his viewers, and end the stream. His donation total today exceeded 30,000 coins. When combined with yesterday’s donations, he had been promoted from Chicken Egg to Eagle Egg level.

    At Eagle Egg tier, the platform’s service fee dropped to 25%. Today’s donation total was 34,126 coins, which converted to 8,531.49 pounds sterling after the fee deduction.

    Streaming is amazing!! Long live the streamer life!!!

    Joel carefully returned his beloved minerals to his underground collection room, then came back up to grab a drink to quench his thirst—he had been talking nonstop for over an hour. As he sipped his homemade drink, he picked up his smartphone with his other hand and sent a message to Miguel through the BB app.

[Joel Connolly] Miguel, how was my stream today?

[Miguel Alvin] I think you’ve finally found a job that suits you. Your selling point as a wizard really pulls in the viewers.

[Joel Connolly] I’m so happy to hear that. But honestly. I feel a bit uneasy about the people who donated, especially the one with the username Daddy J.

    Because that person had donated 20,000 coins in a single stream. Even though Joel was thrilled to have earned so much, all he had really done was share knowledge about minerals. He had not shown off any major skills. For someone to donate that much—could that really be okay?

[Miguel Alvin] Honestly, you don’t need to feel guilty at all. That money—he gave it to you willingly. For all we know, he could be so rich he uses stacks of cash as toilet paper.

[Joel Connolly] That’s true, but still… I can’t help feeling weird about it. But I guess that feeling will pass in a day or two.

[Miguel Alvin] Sigh… If you really feel guilty, then give him something nice in return. Like a magic potion or one of your precious collectibles—the one you’re least attached to.

[Joel Connolly] You’re right. I knew it was a good idea to ask you.

    The heavy feeling on Joel’s shoulders felt like it had been lifted by his best friend. The slender wizard walked over to the living room and sat on the guest sofa. Romeo, having waited for this moment, hurried over with a pumpkin-shaped brush clutched in his mouth. Joel’s pale, slender hand accepted the brush and patted his lap, inviting the fat black cat to hop up.

    While brushing Romeo’s fur, Joel tapped into the UCL app to message Daddy J—the benefactor who had just helped him escape financial crisis. The top donor list was displayed on his profile, showing the three highest contributors, ensuring that streamers remembered their generous supporters. Of course, number one on Joel’s Cauldron channel was Daddy J.

[Joel's Cauldron] Hello, Daddy J. This is Joel—you probably remember me since you just spent a fortune on me.

[Joel's Cauldron] I just wanted to say thank you for supporting my channel. I’d like to offer you one magic potion as a gift—anything you like, except for curses or love potions.

[Joel's Cauldron] You can request whatever you’d like. I promise it will be of the highest quality.

    Meanwhile, Jaden was pacing like a caged animal in his office. His secretary had just reported that they could not find any information on the streamer behind Joel’s Cauldron, due to UCL’s privacy agreements, customer data was protected.

    Since Joel was not registered as a magic user, even the secretary’s deep connections had turned up empty. The notification sound from the app made the muscular man stop mid-step. He picked up his smartphone to see a message notification from Joel’s Cauldron. The aching tightness in his chest eased as his heart settled. He tapped into the inbox to read what Joel had sent.

[Daddy J.] I don’t want anything in return from you.

[Joel's Cauldron] I understand—but I really want to give you something back. Otherwise, I won’t feel right about it.

    Jaden frowned. He was about to refuse again—he truly did not want anything in return. But something deep inside warned him: if he turned Joel down now, he might never get close to that little wizard again. The CEO of Shakur Corporation fell silent for a moment before typing his reply.

[Daddy J.] If you really want to repay me, then could we meet in person—just once?

[Daddy J.] Somewhere public, or anywhere you feel safe. You can bring a friend if you want.

    This time, Joel was the one frowning. His slender hands set Romeo’s brush aside and screenshot Daddy J’s message, sending it to Miguel for advice. The bar owner stayed silent for a moment before responding:

[Miguel Alvin] You can meet. My bar’s always open to customers—I’ll be there to watch over you.

    Partly, this was because Miguel worried for the out-of-touch wizard who always lagged behind others. But beneath that concern was curiosity. She wanted to know. What kind of person would spend tens of thousands on Joel—just for him to talk about energy stones?