Chapter 84: Divine Draw
It had to be said, this time Xanthia's blind box opening truly achieved a "divine draw"!
Out of three blind boxes, none of them were basic items, which meant her luck with "gacha" this time was even better than before.
The first blind box yielded a recipe for "Spaghetti," but the recipe from the system was evidently not as simple as it appeared—
The Spaghetti made according to this recipe were, first and foremost, an exquisite earthly delight.
Moreover, they had the incredible ability to vividly recall memories that brought tears to the eyes of those who ate them, touching their softest emotional spots...
For instance, if a diner had lost their mother, eating these pasta would bring back memories of her appearance and smile, along with all the moments shared when she was alive. This, of course, would deeply affect the diner, truly "healing" them.
Hence, the full name of this recipe was "Healing Spaghetti."
After reading this description, Xanthia understood perfectly well that this recipe was meant to collect "suffering points," perfectly in line with the system's item style, which primarily targeted others.
In anime, some foods are so delicious that they cause people to burst their clothing seams. The Spaghetti from the system were delicious enough to make people shed tears!
She recalled watching a movie about a rat controlling the hair of a chef and the strict gourmand which was very touching. The cartoon movie also portrayed the effects of hotdogs plus spaghetti in a mystical way.
Now, it seemed the system directly materialized such food from imagenary works into reality. No wonder it was called "Healing Spaghetti."
Without hesitation, Xanthia chose to use this recipe.
Then, she discovered that she instantly mastered the miraculous technique of making "Healing Spaghetti," and each time she prepared these miraculous pasta, she gained more "culinary" skill experience than from ordinary home-cooked meals in real life.
Perhaps this was what they meant by a dish imbued with one's own feelings, a dish with a soul?
With this recipe, she might become a "Pasta Sage" full of artisan spirit.
By the way, Xanthia now possessed Level 1 (beginner level) culinary skills, thanks to accumulated experience from her past life.
After all, as a solitary office worker, she couldn't rely on takeout every day, so she had to know how to cook basic home meals. Following online tutorials, made it very convenient.
However, in her past life, she wasn't particularly talented at cooking. Her home-cooked meals were passable but definitely healthier than takeout.
She hadn't had much time to devote to mastering culinary skills back then. But now, with the system and plenty of free time, everything was different. If she persisted, she could definitely elevate her culinary skill level and create truly delicious dishes.
Increasing her culinary skill level was meaningful to her.
After all, enjoying good food was an immensely joyful thing. Plus, in the future, she could upgrade the "Divine Tongue" attribute, combining top-notch culinary skills with it, bringing her even more happiness!
Those who tasted the delicious dishes she made with her own hands would surely be blessed. However, afterwards, they might also suffer from "suffering points" again, because the delicious dishes she made were like memory-replay capsules in the realm of food!
Yet, Xanthia couldn't cook for them every day, so these "suffering points" would inevitably return.
As for herself, she wasn't picky about food. After all, she possessed the attribute "Gourmet," and her extradimensional stomach could digest anything and convert it into energy.
In any case, drawing the recipe for "Healing Spaghetti" was truly brilliant. It not only facilitated her faster advancement in culinary skills but also provided her with a new trump card.
Moving on to the second blind box, Xanthia drew a new type of system item: a "Summoning Beast Skill Book," designed to be used by summoned beasts to acquire new skills.
But the "Summoning Beast Skill Book" she drew didn't have such concerns about replacing existing skills—it would simply add new skills with a hundred percent success rate.
She scrutinized the "Skill Book" in her hands and couldn't help but sneer, "What kind of useless skill is this!"
After a summoned beast uses this skill book, it can make people burst into laughter or tears!
This "Cry-Laugh" skill seemed like another prank skill similar to the "Shit-Piss-Fart" skill she got from the little flying bug before. The system clearly encouraged her to prank others...
Xanthia didn't immediately use the skill book on the little firefly. Adding a skill that could make others cry and laugh after "Shit-Piss-Fart" would allow her to control the degree of laughter and tears as she pleased, much like controlling the intensity of diarrhea.
The reason she didn't use the skill book immediately was because she wanted to see what the third blind box would yield. What if she summoned a beast that was more compatible with this skill book?
To her slight disappointment, the summoned beast wasn't as good as she had hoped.
However, what came out of the third blind box was a blue-quality magical accessory that Xanthia was very satisfied with!
It was a "jewelry-type" equipment that looked like a sun-shaped pendant.
Its function was naturally offensive, capable of briefly blinding enemies nearby, causing panic and pain. Its energy only needed to be replenished by sunlight.
Since she hadn't had much time, Xanthia, despite already working hard to improve her physique, strength, and agility, still felt insecure about her overall combat capability. Thus, she promptly exchanged it for a highly cost-effective "Malicious Notebook," which focused on predicting attacks in advance to avoid encounters with strong enemies.
Now with this "Blinding Pendant," although it could only temporarily blind enemies and cause no fatal damage, it was indeed a "group attack." Unlike the little firefly whose "Shit-Piss-Fart" ability, no matter how strong, could only affect one person at a time.
So, even though this sun-shaped "Blinding Pendant" couldn't compare to the astronomical prices of magical equipment in the system store, as an item drawn from a cheap blind box, what more could one ask for?
With this, Xanthia no longer needed to worry about being "gang-beaten." If she unexpectedly encountered a group, she would decisively use the brief blinding ability of this item and slip away.
Moreover, it could also be used for preemptive strikes, first detecting malice with the "Malicious Notebook" and then using the "Blinding Pendant" to blind the enemy, followed by a baseball bat or something similar to severely beat them while they were blinded...
Xanthia couldn't help but smile with satisfaction. She promptly put on the "Blinding Pendant" around her neck. Its appearance was inconspicuous, like the kind of cheap pendant one might buy at a store like but who would have thought it was a genuine magical equipment?
Although its lethality was not great, its practicality was indeed strong. Someone as pragmatic as Xanthia liked such highly practical equipment.
Her sense of security had been further enhanced. After equipping the pendant, she then decisively had the summon beast skill book used on the little firefly. Now it turned into a "Shit-Piss-Fart-Cry-Laugh" little flying bug...
After opening the three blind boxes this month, among the items they produced, it was still the magical equipment that Xanthia was most satisfied with. This was quite a powerful ace up her sleeve.
With this, Xanthia's personal safety was basically guaranteed, reducing the chances of encountering accidents to a minimum.
After all, Xanthia was living alone, commuting to and from school by herself, without any bodyguards. There was still a probability of accidents happening, and she could only rely on herself, being the least important member in the Papadopoulos familia.
Of course, not being valued also had its benefits. Because she was so inconspicuous, she was less likely to attract hostility or grudges.
Xanthia just wanted to pursue a simple and happy life without getting involved in troublesome situations.
She touched the sun-shaped "Blinding Pendant" on her chest with satisfaction. Suddenly, she thought about her summon beast, the "little firefly," gaining a new skill. Could this skill be used on herself?
Previously, Xanthia had only disdain for the "Shit-Piss-Fart" skill the little firefly had. She never thought about using it on herself since she didn't need to treat "constipation." Now, with a skill that could make others laugh or cry, could she increase her happiness just by making herself laugh?
She became interested and tried it on herself, looking at herself in the mirror. She indeed laughed and could even control the volume of her laughter. However, this was just a physiological laughter and didn't increase any happiness points.
Come to think of it, if laughing at herself could massively boost her happiness points, that would be a "bug" or "glitch". She wouldn't need to actively seek happiness anymore; she could just use the skill all day and laugh at herself.
Using the skill to laugh at herself was indeed quite pointless. Couldn't she laugh on her own?
However, using the crying skill on herself made Xanthia suddenly realize that if used well, this skill could effectively extract pain points from others!
Why?
The answer was simple. She was originally that pitiful "fragile and sickly beautiful girl," who easily elicited sympathy from others. If she could cry at any moment, wouldn't it greatly enhance her ability to extract pain points?
However, before this, she was just a person who enjoyed life, without mastering any "acting" skills. She couldn't "cry on command." Sometimes, she even appeared carefree, which weakened the effectiveness of her "fragile and sickly beautiful girl" persona...
Now, even though she still didn't have any "acting" skills, with the new skill obtained by her summon beast, she could effectively play the role of a "weeping actress," shedding tears at will!
She could even produce those "crying and laughing" expressions that were more heart-wrenching and pitiful. Wasn't this an excellent skill for extracting pain points?
Who wouldn't feel sorry for this "fragile and sickly beautiful girl" shedding tears or sobbing loudly? Wasn't this a supreme skill for extracting pain points?
Thinking that in the future, she could manipulate others through her tears, Xanthia suddenly found it interesting. This was a path she had never imagined before.
She originally looked down on the summon beast, the little firefly. Now she found its gameplay quite interesting!
After all, the more optimistic, positive, and lively she appeared, the greater the contrast and impact when she suddenly shed tears. This character setting could be molded into that kind—where her heart was scarred and full of pain, but she pretended to be strong and optimistic on the surface. If someone, a pain point generator, accidentally discovered the truth behind this facade, wouldn't it be a jackpot?
Anyway, now she could cry naturally anytime, anywhere. No one would notice that while she seemed to be crying on the surface, she was actually laughing inside!
Discovering a new use for the summon beast's skill, Xanthia felt that this blind box opening had indeed brought her great comfort. She was now very comfortable!
As for the recipe for "Healing Spaghetti," Xanthia didn't rush to study it. Mainly because her single apartment was too small. Although there was a small natural gas stove just inside the door, she hardly used it. She felt that this rudimentary place that couldn't even be called a kitchen was not suitable for her.
Moreover, she didn't have all the ingredients and seasonings to make the Healing Spaghetti, and it was late at night now. She couldn't immediately go out to buy them.
Anyway, now that she had learned the recipe, recorded it in the system panel, it would definitely count as one of her trump cards. She could reveal it whenever she wanted without any urgency.
She felt that if she wanted to improve her cooking skills in the future, she would have to move to a better place. This cramped single apartment was really inconvenient for cooking.
After circling back to the matter of "earning money," Xanthia realized she needed a stable source of income.
Next, Xanthia slept comfortably, enjoying a good night's sleep, which ensured she woke up in a good mood.
The next day, after equipping the "Blinding Pendant," she felt more confident even when traveling alone on the bus. However, she had taken many bus rides and nothing unexpected had ever happened... Regardless, with more aces up her sleeve, she felt more at ease and happier.
She arrived at the classroom on time as usual, just in time for the morning reading class, which today was English.
The English teacher for Class 3 of Grade 11 was named Mathilda, a woman. In the fanciful imaginations of many students, an English teacher should be fashionable and beautiful, ideally always in a classic teacher's uniform with a pair of black stockings, inspiring passion for learning a foreign language...
Unfortunately, Mathilda, this English teacher, had nothing to do with "fashionable and beautiful." She was a very ordinary looking middle-aged woman, who never wore a teacher's uniform. Of course, her teaching skills were impeccable. Not only did she teach Class 3 English, but she also taught the experimental class of Grade 11 Class 2.
However, she was not popular among the students. Perhaps she shattered their fantasy of what an "English teacher" should be.
Moreover, she taught in a methodical and uninteresting manner, to the point of being hypnotic. Only students who were willing to concentrate and learn diligently could benefit from her teaching.
Such high teaching standards, especially from a teacher adept at teaching exam techniques, not being liked by students, was quite normal.
Usually, the teachers who were particularly good at making students "enjoy studying" were the most popular. For example, Class 3's chemistry teacher, Gregorio, was a military enthusiast. In a forty-minute class, he could spend over ten minutes talking about military equipment, which the students loved.
The boys listened with great interest, and even the girls, who might find the topic boring, didn't mind the teacher's digressions. It allowed them to daydream or relax.
In their student days, such chatty and humorous teachers were the most popular. However, some students might become too relaxed and distracted in their classes, making it hard to learn effectively. This type of teacher was a double-edged sword.
As the English reading class began, Mathilda arrived promptly in Class 3. Dressed in her typical middle-aged style, she wore a stern expression as she followed her usual routine. The first twenty minutes were for vocabulary and phrases, followed by a ten-minute dictation.
She would call out four students to write on the blackboard, keeping a sharp eye on the rest of the class. If anyone dared to look up and cheat, she would call them out without mercy, showing no leniency.
Over time, no one dared to cheat on these small vocabulary tests. Even if they didn't get the dictation right, the punishment was minor—just copying the words ten times. Only those who couldn't score at least 60 were required to redo the dictation.
Under Mathilda's supervision, the atmosphere in the English reading class was quite good. With the help of the "Wisdom" and "Study Expert" tags, along with her foundation from her previous life, Xanthia completed the day's task in just five minutes.
Some top students might continue studying after finishing the teacher's tasks, but not Xanthia. She wouldn't waste time that could be spent accumulating happiness points.
She nonchalantly took out the manga she hadn't finished during last night's self-study and openly placed it on her desk. Since the homeroom teacher, Emmanuel, had given her real privileges, she wasn't shy about using them, unlike before when she had to be discreet.
Such blatant behavior naturally caught Mathilda's attention. She frowned but said nothing.
[ Pain points from Mathilda +++ ]
Xanthia chuckled. Who knew using privileges would have such an effect?
Feeling pleased, she decided to continue using her privileges in the future.
Mathilda suppressed her annoyance but didn't hold back during the dictation. She pointedly called out Xanthia's name first.
"Xanthia, come to the blackboard for the dictation."
The class looked surprised.