Chen Xin sucked in a breath of cool air when he heard this.
Isn't this just making up stories?
To concoct a story with a context, cohesive plot, and a relative sense of logic throughout?
Of course, the central idea of the story would be one's desired goal. Upon completing the story with this goal in mind, reality would proceed accordingly.
The story comes true!
Chen Xin revisited Lin Yi's introduction in his mind and a strong surge of joy welled up within him.
This reward is awesome!
Lin Yi picked up the red orb in his hand and said, "Of course, there's one more thing. Anything I write with this pen that directly or indirectly involves me will not come true."
After hearing this, the smile on Chen Xin's face collapsed in an instant.
He had wanted to write a story about their team heroically winning the Soul Master competition, and had even drafted an outline in his mind. Damn it!
However, this rule was clichéd, and after a moment of grumbling, Chen Xin could only choose to accept it.
Just as Lin Yi was about to hand over the reward, he suddenly remembered something, "Right, there's something I must warn you about."
Chen Xin gulped involuntarily, feeling a sudden surge of nervousness. Whenever Lin Yi said something like that, it was sure to be bad news.
"Your reward will backlash against its master," Lin Yi said.
"Huh?!" Chen Xin exclaimed.
The host's reward following Lin Yi's brutal strike was erased by the System, including the backlash.
Chen Xin asked tentatively, "What kind of backlash?"
"Every five hundred words you write, it will have the chance to write on its own, which is something you cannot stop. And whatever it writes will target you, focusing on the various misfortunes that might befall you. The severity of these unfortunate events can range from something as light as tripping to something as grave as death," explained Lin Yi.
Chen Xin's eyes widened, and he staggered backward a few steps, his body trembling faintly.
Could it really be that vicious?
Lin Yi forced out a comforting smile, "You don't need to worry too much. Most of the misfortunes will range between the mild and severe. I was just saying that there is a possibility for both the lightest and heaviest outcomes."
"There's another trick to not wasting words. If your goal is simple, the buildup can be relatively brief. But if your goal is difficult to achieve, then the buildup must be substantial. Otherwise, you might write something that won't come to pass, and those words will still count towards the five hundred, leading to punishment."
Chen Xin admitted he had gotten excited too soon.
Sure enough, a wish-granting reward like this should be at the Gold Rank, and the reason it was only at the Red Level was because of the backlash!
Lin Yi flicked the red orb into Chen Xin's hands, and to his surprise, the orb transformed into the shape of a ballpoint pen.
Nani, did the System just magically modify a ballpoint pen from Blue Planet? So crude and simple?
Lin Yi had thought that the high-sounding "Pen of Fortune" would have been intricately designed by the System.
Chen Xin asked weakly, "Do I need special paper to write on?"
Lin Yi replied, "Anywhere you can write will do."
Chen Xin didn't really want to test the reward, since writing even a single extra word now would bring him a step closer to misfortune... but trying out a new reward first had almost become a tradition, and everyone was watching.
If he didn't use it, other attackers who had tried out their rewards would feel it was unfair.
"Give me a sheet of paper!"
Chen Xin shouted, actually quite curious how reality would play out according to the written content.
After receiving a white sheet of paper from the adorable Sect Master, Chen Xin knelt on the ground and wrote:
"Feeling a pebble in his shoe, Gu Rong took off his footwear, only to be bumped by Second Worshiper chasing after a butterfly, causing him to fall face-first to the ground, his shoe ending up in his mouth."
Chen Xin didn't dare to write about others present, fearing it would cause disputes, nor could he write about Emperor Xueye, because he was the emperor; he couldn't write about the Sect Master either, because the Sect Master was adorable. He could only use his good brother as the scapegoat.
After finishing, he counted the characters very carefully, one by one, to see how many there were.
Having done this, he observed the scene in silence.
He indeed wanted to see how reality would act out the text!
Just then, Chen Xin suddenly widened his eyes: "No way..."
From the tranquil blue silver grass at the roadside, a beautiful butterfly unexpectedly flew out... There had never been a butterfly here before because there were no flowers nearby.
The butterfly flitted through the crowd, quickly catching the eye of Little Golden Crocodile.
At the same time, Gu Rong suddenly frowned and looked at his right foot.
He stepped back, took off his shoe, and shook it upside down, emptying some pebbles onto the ground.
"Eh? What's that smell in my shoe?"
Gu Rong brought the shoe to his nose to sniff.
At that moment, Little Golden Crocodile was about to chase after the butterfly, but his shoulder was suddenly held back by Third Offeror: "Second bro, don't move, Chen Xin is trying out a reward, be careful you get written into it."
But Little Golden Crocodile's love for butterflies greatly exceeded Third Offeror's expectations. The little guy grabbed the hand of Third Offeror and executed a classic over-the-shoulder throw, slamming Third Offeror to the ground!
After that, he nimbly jumped over Third Offeror's body and pursued the butterfly.
Everyone's gaze was irresistibly drawn to this spectacle in utter astonishment.
Gu Rong looked up, and Little Golden Crocodile, who was rapidly chasing the butterfly, had somehow ended up behind him. With an "accidental" bump, Gu Rong's eyes widened as he toppled forward, his shoe tip fitting right into his mouth.
Chen Xin was dumbfounded.
What he had written truly played out...
Meanwhile, Little Golden Crocodile suddenly paused, not showing any particular reaction, and continued happily chasing after the butterfly.
"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey!"
Gu Rong got up and immediately pulled the shoe out of his mouth. Glancing at Third Offeror who had been slammed to the ground, he looked puzzled, as if he thought of something, then he quickly turned to Chen Xin on the stage and asked in amazement, "Did you do this?"
Chen Xin quickly unfolded the paper: "First of all, let me clarify! The slamming of Third Offeror was not something I wrote!"
Gu Rong was shocked: "Did you really do this?! I was wondering, my boot clearly shouldn't have pebbles in it, and how coincidentally it ended up in my mouth! Damn!"
After scanning the content on the paper, everyone suddenly became enlightened, and they now understood the sudden appearance of the butterfly.
Lin Yi began to explain, "Third Offeror's intervention to stop Golden Crocodile from going out was an accidental event, since he knew Chen Xin was writing something; that's why he stopped him at this moment. But under normal circumstances, Chen Xin wouldn't write in front of you all, so faced with this unexpected intervention, Golden Crocodile's response was to execute the task violently."
So I just got slammed over the shoulder that violently... Third Offeror thought to himself, feeling wronged.
He was still perplexed; Second bro usually isn't that aggressive!