ᛗᚨᚤ ᚨᛚᛚ ᚤᛟᚢᚱ ᚹᛁᛋᚺᛖᛋ ᚲᛟᛗᛖ ᛏᚱᚢᛖ

Chapter 4

    “Hello, everyone. Welcome to Joel’s Cauldron.”

    Joel greeted the viewers who had gathered spontaneously—and quickly. The audience count was now nearing ten thousand. Comments from fans who had been captivated by the first stream began pouring in to say hello, while some new viewers typed polite greetings. Others chose to simply watch quietly.

    [Uranus: I’m here!!]

    [MamaBearNumberOne: Joooeeelllll. MamaBear’s hereeee.]

    [HubbySneakingFromWifey: //Donated 100 coins with a message// Hello, streamer.]

    [DontFlirtOrI’llCrushYourBalls: //Donated 100 coins with a message// Reporting in.]

    [WantedFriedNoodlesButGotStirFried: Hello, Joel. Any potion giveaways today?]

    “Thank you, HubbySneakingFromWifey and DontFlirt, for the donations. No potion brewing today, though. Instead, I’ll be sharing some knowledge about lucky stones. Hello, MamaBearNumberOne. Have you tried the potion yet?”

    [MamaBearNumberOne: I did! My grandma walked in and saw me!!]

    “Oh? And what did your grandma say?”

    [MamaBearNumberOne: She screamed at the top of her lungs! Then she jumped out the window. My dad had to go grab a ladder to help her climb down from the second floor.]

    [DontFlirtOrI’llCrushYourBalls: Grandmaaa!!!!]

    [HubbySneakingFromWifey: Your grandma must be strong—otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to jump like that.]

    “Ah, please apologize to your grandma for me. Next time I brew transformation potions for giveaways, I’ll use different ingredients—maybe a little bit of Romeo’s fur.”

    The little wizard continued chatting with fans while his pale, slender hands laid out a soft synthetic fiber cloth over the island. Once the viewer count hit ten thousand, he got into the main topic.

    “Today, I’ll be introducing lucky stones. Though calling them lucky might not be entirely accurate—they’re really about energy. Stones and minerals emit natural energies. According to the law of attraction, things with similar energies tend to draw toward one another. People who understand this apply the principle to stones and minerals, which is how lucky charms and energy jewelry came to be. I wonder if that explanation makes sense to everyone…”

    The first few sentences were spoken directly to the audience, but that last bit he muttered to himself, tapping his fingers together thoughtfully. His adorable demeanor and soft voice, grumbling quietly to himself, charmed many new viewers into hitting the follow button as though under a spell.

    [MamaBearNumberOne: Huuu, so cute! I wanna mold Joel into a ball and swallow him whole.]

    [NeverEverImpossibleToLoveEachOther: This streamer feels like such an approachable magic user.]

    “Ordinary people can use the natural energies of stones too. The first stone I’ll introduce is Garnet.”

    Joel picked up an unprocessed garnet crystal and placed it on the island. The vivid red gleam of the mineral shone under the lights, stunning the viewers into silence. In this day and age, minerals and gemstones were considered rare treasures—on par with ancient artifacts or fossils. Especially raw stones that had not been processed yet—those were even more valuable. This streamer had to be a billionaire-level magic user, no doubt about it!

    “In ancient India, it was believed that carrying garnet as a talisman would keep one safe from all harm and drive away spirits and ghosts. When worn as jewelry, it was said to bring good fortune, enhance auspiciousness, and attract wealth and prosperity to its owner.”

    Garnet belongs to the gemstone family, with a Mohs hardness of 6.5-7.5. Chemically, it’s a complex silicate group mineral and comes in a variety of colors, including red, brown, orange, yellow, and green. However, red is the most popular. It has a glassy luster, is quite durable, and is commonly used in jewelry.

    “The natural energy of garnet helps with protection, fulfilling desires, stimulating sexual energy, and improving love and relationships.”

    [DontFlirtOrI’llCrushYourBalls: //Donated 300 coins with a message// Streamer’s definitely rich—but it’s fine, I’ll just stick to instant noodles.]

    [MamaBearNumberOne: Why does it feel just like ruby?]

    [Uranus: Stimulates sexual energy!! I’m getting garnet for my partner right away.]

    “Thank you, DontFlirt, for the donation. MamaBearNumberOne, ruby is actually a more durable mineral than garnet. In terms of color, garnet comes in a wider range—green, brown, orange, not just red—while ruby usually has a pinkish-red hue. A quick way to tell the difference is that ruby tends to be cloudier than garnet. That’s because ruby’s red color comes from chromium.”

    [HubbySneakingFromWifey: //Donated 500 coins with a message// Your knowledge is so broad.]

    “Thank you, HubbySneakingFromWifey, for the donation.”

    Joel smiled gratefully at the donors and answered a few more questions from the audience about how to use garnet. Then, he carefully picked up the next beloved mineral and placed it on the island. Immediately, the chat erupted again because the stone he held up was as big as a rugby ball.

    “The next stone I’ll introduce is citrine. Citrine’s energy helps foster positive attitudes, brings out creativity, enhances intellect, and improves decision-making. If you’re trying to be understood or making a case for something, it’s good to wear citrine jewelry or place citrine on your work desk. It helps those around you better understand your communication.”

    A deep yellow-orange crystal appeared on the stream screen, its glittering brilliance almost blinding.

    Citrine was a large, transparent quartz crystal, ranging from pale yellow to orange-brown. Naturally occurring citrine, especially those in deep yellow or intense orange, was extremely rare.

    Citrine formed in the same way as quartz, but in environments similar to smoky quartz—areas where there were traces of radioactive elements, which naturally emitted radiation, causing the minerals within the crystals to develop color. However, many citrines found in the market were not natural citrines. Instead, they were amethyst stones heat-treated to turn yellow-orange.

    “When distinguishing natural citrine from heat-treated amethyst citrine, you can look for pleochroism (the change of color when viewed from different angles). Natural citrine will show varying intensities of yellow at different angles, whereas heat-treated citrine doesn’t show such variations in its yellow-orange color.”

    Joel held the mineral up to the camera, rotating it so the light hit it from different angles, revealing multiple shades of yellow. Once again, viewers were witnessing something rare and precious. The stream was soon shared widely across other platforms, drawing in people who had never seen Joel’s streams before—spreading even into gemstone and mineral enthusiast circles who tuned in out of curiosity.

    [LoveWaterLoveStone: My god, I’ve never seen a mineral this big in my life!!]

    [GrandmasterGray: Streamer, are you interested in selling these minerals? I’d gladly buy them at a handsome price.]

    “Hello to all the new viewers. Apologies, but these stones are part of my personal collection. I’m not selling them.”

    His beautiful face adorned with a sweet smile made the hearts of many new viewers waver. The viewer count for his stream had now reached over thirty thousand, and the donation total kept rising steadily. The climbing numbers made Joel’s smile grow even wider with happiness. Not only would he and Romeo survive next month, but there might even be enough leftover to buy more stones.

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

    “The next piece I’ll introduce is aquamarine. Its energy helps protect during long journeys, especially over water. It also aids in communicating with your subconscious, helping you understand your true desires. Carrying it when meeting strangers can help ease anxiety—and even make people more receptive to what you say.”

    Aquamarine belonged to the beryl family. It ranged in color from blue-green to greenish-blue, sky blue, and sea blue. The rarest and most valuable shade was deep blue. In Roman times, fishermen called this gem ’seawater’ (believed to be frozen seawater) and believed that wearing or carrying it could prevent shipwrecks and ensure a bountiful catch.

    In ancient European lore, aquamarine was considered a mermaid’s treasure and used by sailors as a talisman for luck, courage, and protection. It was also believed to be a stone of eternal youth and happiness, capable of warding off dark forces and bringing favor from the god of light.

    [MamaBearNumberOne: Joel’s like a walking gemstone encyclopedia. So talented, my child.]

    “Teehee, MamaBearNumberOne, I’m way too old to be your child.”

    [WantedFriedNoodlesButGotStirFried: Each piece you’ve shown is practically priceless. Are you sure you won’t sell any?]

    [MiguelTheBeautifulRichOne: This old man will never sell. If it’s between buying stones or buying food, guess what he’d choose.]

    “Oh, that's you, Miguel? I’d obviously choose food.”

    [MiguelTheBeautifulRichOne: Swear it—swear you’d choose food.]

    Joel’s opalescent eyes darted around, his pale, slender hands spinning the deep blue gemstone in his fingers to avoid answering the question. The chat flooded with laughing stickers. Meanwhile, the brilliance and clarity of the gemstone dazzled collectors and wealthy ladies watching the stream, making them impulsively shower Joel with donations in hopes that he might cave and announce a sale or auction.

    Meanwhile, over in Canary Wharf—the business and financial hub in East London—stood a towering building owned by Shakur Corporation, a global titan in mining concessions and gemstone trade.

    Jaden Shakur, fifth-generation heir and current CEO, sat reviewing a report on the discovery of a massive amethyst—the largest found in fifty years—at one of the company’s mines in Uruguay. Until—a knock on the door interrupted his focus. His sea-blue eyes shifted from the document toward the intruder.

    “Jaaaaaakkkkkke”

    “You’re so annoying, Leroy.”

    The tall, broad-shouldered man in his thirties plopped himself down on the guest sofa. Jaden shook his head and signaled to his young secretary that he could leave. The secretary offered a strained smile, bowed, and stepped out to continue his work. The CEO of Shakur Corporation turned to look at his only close friend, now sprawled lazily on the sofa.

    “If you’ve got something to say, spit it out. I’m working.”

    “Work, work, work. Take a break, man. Otherwise, you’ll get wrinkles before I do.”

    Leroy Millard, heir apparent to Millard Group—an online media mogul and one of the major shareholders of the UCL platform—grumbled lazily. Jaden eyed his friend, now melted into a puddle of laziness, with a sigh. Born unlucky, he barely had any friends—and the ones he did have were not exactly normal.

    “What’s the document?”

    “Our Uruguay mine found a massive amethyst geode.”

    “It’s just a big amethyst geode—”

    “It’s an 11-foot-tall geode.”

    “……”

    “Weighing 5,500 pounds (2.5 tons.)”

    “Okay, that’s seriously big. Speaking of massive gemstones—there’s a buzz going on over at UCL, the platform I oversee.”

    “Why?”

    “There’s a new streamer—a magic user—who’s started a channel. You know how those people are—mysterious, arrogant. It’s rare for them to do something like this.”

    “And what does that have to do with massive gemstones?”

    Leroy, successfully dragging his friend away from work, quickly grabbed his latest model smartphone and opened the Uccello app. He tapped into the currently trending stream, and the beautiful face and sweet voice of the streamer appeared on the screen. He handed the phone to his large friend.

    “He’s streaming about energy stones right now. Every piece is huge. Collectors are swarming in, offering to buy them, but it seems they’re part of his personal collection—he refuses to sell any.”

    The first thing Jaden saw was ginger-red hair and pale skin. But what made his heart tighten painfully was those opalescent eyes without pupils. The CEO of Shakur Corporation gripped his friend’s smartphone tightly, his hands trembling.

    “Do you know him!?”

    “Nope. All I know is his name—Joel. He just started his channel a day or two ago.”

Jaden’s muscular frame shot up. His long legs strode out of the office area toward the door, still holding Leroy’s smartphone. He yanked the door open, startling his secretary, who was preparing documents for the amethyst geode transport.

    Jaden strode up to him and set the smartphone, still playing Joel’s stream, down for him to see.

    “The streamer named Joel—get me everything on him within two hours.”

    Glossary:

    ·       Geode = Geode Agate, known in Thai as หินโมรา. It forms when air pockets filled with minerals and water are trapped in volcanic rock, animal burrows, tree roots, or sedimentary stone. The inner crystals only become visible when the rock is broken, drilled, or sliced.

    In ancient Egypt, agate was believed to offer protection, wealth, and fertility. It was thought to cure insomnia, boost health, and promote prosperity. Placing it near the bed was also believed to treat sexual dysfunction.

    One of the largest geodes in the world is The Empress of Uruguay, a massive amethyst geode weighing over 2.5 tons.