Chapter 142: The Super Bounty

Andy realized that since it was Katherine’s birthday, he absolutely had to give her a gift, yet in his haste, he had prepared nothing. This, however, did not stump him; a moment’s thought provided a solution. He asked Katherine to wait for a moment and stepped out of the room.

Thinking that if Katherine enjoyed listening to stories, she would likely enjoy reading novels as well, he decided to gift her one. Using his enhanced memory, he searched for a popular web novel he had read in his previous life. He then retrieved the paper he had set aside from when he sold secret manuals and, using a transcription spell, copied the novel’s content onto the pages one by one.

Although the novel was quite long, Andy possessed "infinite firepower." With a speed faster than a printer, he finished the book in no time, even adding illustrations. He carefully bound the book and inscribed on the flyleaf: "March 8th, Year 437 of the Elan Calendar. For the beautiful and lovely Katherine—from Andy!"

When he presented it to her, the young girl was clearly delighted. However, Andy knew in his heart that while the gift was clever, it was somewhat of a makeshift effort. Remembering how exhausted Katherine had been while working to seal his curse, he felt a twinge of guilt. He silently resolved that for her coming-of-age ceremony next year, he would prepare a truly peerless gift.

After receiving the gift, Katherine looked at it happily for a while before reminding Andy once more about his curse. She warned him that although the curse was currently sealed, he should avoid returning to Dallas in the near future; otherwise, the seal would weaken prematurely, and the situation would become far more difficult to resolve than a mere seal could handle.

Andy asked why, noting that apart from the influence of the curse in Dallas, he felt fine in the capital, having lived perfectly well for a year while afflicted. Katherine explained that while the curse’s power diminished far from Dallas, it did not vanish. Because Dallas still existed, the collective fate of its countless living souls continued to suppress Andy’s own destiny, manifesting as persistent bad luck.

It might mean that just as Andy neared success, inexplicable factors would intervene to ruin his efforts. It could mean his well-laid plans would be disrupted by bizarre circumstances. It might mean that the moment he committed a wrongdoing, he would be discovered. It might mean that just as he mastered a powerful spell, he would encounter an even stronger enemy. It could mean that people would constantly find trouble with him for reasons both related and unrelated to his actions.

It might mean that benefits he should have received would fail to reach him for unknown reasons. It could even mean that a peerless treasure might be right in his hands, yet he would always fail to discover it. As Katherine spoke, the stone on Andy’s chest flickered with a faint, eerie light.

Andy broke into a cold sweat. He had never realized he was so unlucky; he had felt quite comfortable during his days at Grimm Academy. The only downside was his slow rate of advancement. He asked Katherine if the curse affected his magical aptitude and whether his talent would improve once the curse was sealed. Katherine gave him a definitive answer: it had no impact at all. She had long heard that while the Charles family possessed the secret art of the divine arrow, their mental capacity talent was generally mediocre, with the exception of someone named Xazo. She figured Andy’s poor aptitude was likely hereditary.

Andy felt helpless. It seemed he would have to continue relying on potions—provided he had enough contribution points. If not, he would start grinding for tasks tomorrow! Oh, it was already past midnight; that meant today!

Upon waking, Andy headed to the task hall. Seeing a crowd gathered around a notice board, he went to investigate instead of seeking out the girl he usually worked with. A new S-rank, high-reward task had been posted. At the very top, he saw the content: "100,000 Magic Stones Reward: Searching for Twisted!"

One hundred thousand magic stones—that was over ten thousand contribution points. Andy had never saved that much, even though he was far wealthier than the average student. It seemed the task issuer was an incredibly wealthy individual, throwing money around just to find someone. The task stated that providing a lead on Twisted would earn 10,000 magic stones, while arranging a meeting or providing detailed information would secure the full reward.

"Twisted? Is that what his parents named him because they were bored?" Andy muttered, before realizing this was another world and that the game he was thinking of didn't exist here. It was just a strange coincidence.

The task felt tailor-made for him. With his Magic Mirror, he loved taking such search missions. Even if he couldn't find the person, he could at least determine if they possessed a synthetic treasure, which would likely net him the 10,000 stones anyway.

He went to find the girl to accept the task, but she had already spotted him and hurried over. She looked uneasy, seemingly struggling with what to say, and pulled him out of the hall without a word. Andy didn't resist, wondering how he would reject a confession if that was what this was about. But as soon as she spoke, he realized it was something else entirely.

She asked if he had offended anyone recently. Andy was stunned. Offended someone? That was hard to define. Before the curse was sealed, he had essentially been taunting everyone around him; who knew who might be holding a grudge? He didn't answer and instead asked why she was asking.

She told him that she could no longer help him organize tasks, nor could she accept any on his behalf, because someone from above had spoken up, and he had been blacklisted from the task hall. She added that it wasn't just her; no staff member would issue him tasks anymore. Apologetically, she said this job was very important to her and begged him not to come to her again, offering to return all the contribution points he had tipped her.

Andy shook his head, telling her to keep them as she had earned them. He walked away from the task hall without looking back. Along the way, he pondered who might be targeting him. Two suspects came to mind: Duke from the Disciplinary Committee, or perhaps the so-called "Young Master Charles" he had met previously.

"Hmph!" Andy thought. "You think you can stop me from taking tasks? I am a man who possesses Joseph’s Mask!" He mused that if he found out it really was Duke, he would find a way to take him out, have the mask absorb his essence, and assume his identity to infiltrate the Disciplinary Committee. It was a four-star club, after all—he could get a fifty percent discount on the meditation rooms!