Chapter Twenty-Three: The Pink...

"I don't believe in this 'lucky charm' or 'cursed hand' business. It’s just a matter of probability, and I happened to be the one it struck..."

Sheyatt shook her head repeatedly. It wasn't until Yelin explained the function of reinforcement and amplification scrolls after they opened those boxes the other day that she realized how precious those items truly were. They were an adventurer’s greatest desire and Kiri’s natural enemy. Her own weapon, the Hidden Dragon Greatsword, had been reinforced to +10; the blade now shimmered with an eerie, clear light, and its attributes had surged significantly.

"Buy a few and try your luck. Consider it just for fun," Yelin said with a smile, handing her three thousand gold coins. He was curious to see what Sheyatt, who seemed to possess the bloodline of a lucky winner, could pull from the pots. Of course, he harbored a small, selfish motive: he had once been like these obsessed adventurers, gambling away his entire fortune on pots only to end up with nothing.

"These are the last of the lot! I might not be back for a week or two, so seize the opportunity!" Pot Head brought out another cart of pots. After several rounds of sales, the onlookers had been bled dry, and even those lucky enough to pull rare gear couldn't immediately turn their items into cash.

An awkward situation ensued. Even though many were still red-eyed with desire, not a single person stepped up to buy... They were out of money. Perhaps they had finally cooled down. But it was too late! The gambler’s delusion—that the next box would be the one, that the next reinforcement would succeed—briefly usurped their reason. As they watched Pot Head pack up with a satisfied air, some of the adventurers who had lost their savings were tempted to pull a stocking over their heads and rob him right there.

"I'll take three," Sheyatt said. She tossed the gold coins over and, with little enthusiasm, grabbed three pots at random. Yelin quickly helped her move them to the side—these were the choices of a truly lucky person.

The crowd, previously in a state of regret and beginning to disperse, surged back to watch. Someone still had money! Many wore expressions of gleeful malice; watching three thousand gold coins go down the drain was deeply satisfying. It didn't matter if they were unlucky themselves, as long as someone else was worse off, their wounded hearts found solace.

"Thank you for your patronage! May you strike it rich!" Underneath the pot-shaped mask, the merchant curled his lips in a smug grin. Earning another three thousand gold coins for nothing felt wonderful.

There is a secret to picking these pots. It’s not the ideal scenario where a more battered pot implies greater age and higher quality. In reality, the older and more worn a pot looks, the more likely it is to contain trash. The ones that look brand new—the ones people suspect are freshly made—are actually the higher-quality ones.

Because the more precious the equipment, the more potent the sealing power used to preserve it, ensuring it remains intact and enduring. As it happened, the three pots Sheyatt had picked were the absolute worst of the lot; the clay was already cracked halfway through, looking as if a slight tap would turn them into dust. Pot Head hadn't expected business to be so booming, so he had tossed these broken pots into the cart just to make up the numbers. Who would have thought someone would actually buy them?

"Just so we're clear, luck is a very mysterious thing," Sheyatt said, looking for an exit strategy, before kicking one of the pots. It was so fragile it didn't even require a stick to break.

*Crash.*

The pot shattered into a pile of shards, and a brilliant purple glow shone through, impossible to hide even under the dust and debris.

"Huh?" Sheyatt picked up a ring from her palm. It was a rare-grade piece: the Ring of the Nether Black Lotus!

"A direct hit! You really are lucky! This ring is made from a black lotus and has the effect of amplifying mental power. It could easily sell for three or four thousand gold coins," Pot Head remarked. Even though he was shocked that such a pathetic pot contained rare gear, his shrewd merchant brain immediately registered this as a golden marketing opportunity!

However, the surrounding adventurers were out of money.

*Crash.*

Sheyatt kicked another pot. The intense purple radiance made the onlookers, who had been gloating, widen their eyes. Another piece of rare equipment!

"Wait, this isn't right. I picked these from a corner of the ruins. They looked too battered and ugly, so I didn't bring them out at first. Two rare items in a row... could it be... that these are hidden gems?"

Seeing Sheyatt about to kick the third pot—the most broken one of all—he had a sudden flash of inspiration and rushed to stop her. "Ah, haha, my dear customer! It is my neglect to sell such poor-quality goods. Look, this one is about to crumble. Let me swap it for a new one, and I'll give you an extra one as compensation."

A shameless act with no pretense! The surrounding adventurers realized it too: there was likely something extraordinary about the three pots she had randomly chosen! Two better-looking pots were swapped in as compensation. Pot Head felt smug. The reason he had sacrificed his reputation to snatch that broken pot was a sudden, sharp intuition. According to his brothers, Water Pot and Gold Pot, this batch had yet to yield a single artifact! All signs pointed to that broken pot being highly likely to contain an artifact. What was a little loss of face compared to an artifact?

*Crash.*

Yelin twitched at the corner of his mouth, unable to watch. Only Seria’s eyes sparkled with excitement. Sure enough, it was another rare piece of equipment! Sheyatt was truly a natural-born lucky star, a goddess of fortune incarnate—perfect for the role of a shill. A flash of light crossed Yelin’s mind, and his gaze shifted. Sheyatt’s display of luck had sparked a plan in his head—a plan to... get revenge on Kiri.

"Miss, there’s one last pot. Open it!"
"I hope it's an artifact, just to make this black-hearted merchant die of envy!"
"I spent half a month of hard work only to lose it all in these pots. Take revenge for me!"

Sheyatt picked up the final pot and smashed it against the ground. This time, there was no purple glow. Pot Head let out a long sigh of relief, gazing greedily at the pot he had snatched back. This was the real treasure!

"Pink... is that pink?"
"The light... why does it look... pink?"
"Pink? Isn't that the light that appears when an artifact is born?"

As the crowd began to stir, Linus, who had been watching from the sidelines, acted with lightning speed. He reached into the shards and pulled out the item—it appeared to be a piece of silk clothing.

"Its color is like clouds, its touch like fire, wreathed in a gentle breeze... this is... the梵Wind Jacket!"

Linus was stunned. Legend had it that the 梵Wind Jacket was crafted by condensing the mysterious power of the 梵 wind into the finest silk. It was priceless! Silk is easy to come by, but the 梵 wind is elusive. What blacksmith would be willing to stay at the foot of a mountain day after day, waiting for the 梵 wind, when it might not appear for decades—let alone do so just for one piece of gear!

The stats of the 梵Wind Jacket weren't the highest, but its commemorative value far exceeded similar equipment, and its price crushed countless other artifacts.

"She’s struck it rich!" was the immediate thought of everyone watching.

Pot Head was on the verge of tears. He had been the one to swap the pot; that 梵Wind Jacket should have been his. One could only imagine the marvelous expression hidden behind that pot-shaped mask.