"Alright now take these coupons and say your request," Patty said as he handed out three discounted coupons to the new interns. They took it and held it in their hands. They didn't know what this coupon would do, but the smooth white paper of the coupon made it feel very official and expensive.
Jorn, the thin and tall guy with long hair was the first one to hold out his coupon. Andres already told them what to do. And even if they didn't know its purpose, they still obediently followed his instructions.
"I want a Teqx."
Ron and Dom followed next and also said their request while they held the coupon in their hands.
"Can I also have a Teqx?"
"Please give me a Teqx."
Patty looked at the new system missions in front of him.
{Discounted Coupon Missions}
{Requirement}
Give Jorn that Teqx that he wanted
Give Ron a Teqx
Fulfill Dom's request of having a Teqx
{Reward}
3x Consumable +10 energy stim
Since he was going to give all of them a Teqx anyway, he decided to offload his remaining discounted coupons on them. He didn't want the system to have to take things by its own hands and give out the coupons to whoever it wanted, just like what happened with Sam and Xandra.
Also, he needed the consumable +10 stims. The energy stims in his pocket would become handy when his gambler blood rushed to his brain again and he was forced to use up all of his summon scrolls.
Jorn and the others didn't know what to expect when they received the coupon. After all, it was just a simple piece of paper. How could it possibly change their miserable lives? However, Andres swore by it, saying that Patty's powers were beyond their current level of understanding.
He even said that he was much more powerful than the leaders and CEOs of global companies. They immediately thought it was just an exaggeration. They didn't belittle Patty, but it seemed a bit excessive to compare him to those behemoths that controlled the whole world.
However, Jorn and the others didn't expect to see the coupons in their hands turn to dust all of a sudden. After they said their request, it was as if the paper was burned by an invisible fire and disintegrated into mere ashes.
They were the only ones holding onto it, so it couldn't have been burned by Andres or Patty. The only explanation was that the coupon was more special than they thought. It must have been endowed by Teqx' power!
Their faces were already filled with surprise when they realized that. Andres laughed to himself. After all, he was also in their position just a few hours ago. Not only that, they still hadn't seen the most surprising part of Patty's powers. He could barely wait to see what kind of exaggerated face they would make when Patty suddenly pulled out a Teqx out of thin air.
[Would you like to purchase these three (3) Teqx from the System Store?]
[Original Cost: 9000 Credits]
[Minion Discount Cost: 7425 Credits]
[Y/N]
Patty picked yes.
When he waved his hand in the air, three distinct spheres that glowed with a supernatural aura suddenly appeared floating in front of Patty. These three spherical spirit-like objects were Teqx. Jorn, Dom, and Roni were all familiar with the image of a Teqx. After dreaming of seeing it in real life for years and years, there was no way they would mistake it for anything else.
"That…."
"A…Teqx…that's a Teqx!"
"That's not possible!"
Those three Teqx all had different colors. One was red, one was yellow, and one was blue. Patty used his hands and casually 'shooed' those spheres away from him and onto the new interns. The Red or Power Teqx went over to Jorn. The Blue or Fame Teqx went over to Roni. And last but not least, the Yellow or Money Teqx went over to Dom.
Each one of them told Patty their dream Route and their dream Teqx. They thought it was a simple rhetorical question, something that was used in small talk.
If someone asked you what's your dream car, you wouldn't expect them to suddenly give you that car!
However, Patty did exactly that. They didn't care whatever power they got from the Teqx, as long as it aligned with their Route, they were satisfied with that. Heck, even getting a Teqx itself was already the best gift they could have gotten.
Andres smiled. He knew what they were thinking. He also knew that when they fully integrated with their new Teqx, they would quickly find out why he praised Patty to the ends of the Earth.
The three Teqx floated over to their new respective owners and entered their hearts. As soon as they did so, all of them jolted because of the influx of energy and information in their bodies.
Their bodies started changing from the inside at alarming rates. They had to close their eyes to try and concentrate or else the Teqx would overpower them.
Each Teqx did something completely different to everybody.
For Power Teqx, people usually found out that their bones, tendons, muscles, and skin were enhanced to a high level. Even if they hadn't exercised before, their bodies would become even better than peak mortal athletes when they merged with a Teqx.
For Money Teqx, they found out that their minds were usually the ones that were overloaded with new information. And during their merge with a Teqx, their brains would expand. New neurons were born as the folds in their brains increased, creating new space for new information.
If the Money Teqx they got was related to a blacksmithing skill, then they would find that they would learn new skills and techniques related to that when they merged with a Teqx. Their natural intuition regarding blacksmithing would be equivalent to a mortal master who spent a decade on their crafts.
For the Fame Teqx, the physical and mental strength doesn't change much. Instead, their charisma becomes more enhanced, making them look more appealing to the average human.
If it was a singing-related Teqx, then their voice would seem much more captivating to others. If it was a painting-related Teqx, then the ladies would scream even when they simply just picked up a brush.
Of course, this wasn't easily measured as IQ or how much one could bench press, so it was hard for people to understand.
That was why some people considered Fame Dreamers to be weaker than the other two. Of course, that wasn't true. In the earlier stages, sure, Fame Dreamers were weak in a fight but that changes when they get further in their cultivation.
Even a Fame Dreamer can go toe to toe with a master swordsman without even doing anything physical. They simply used their Fame to fight. Of course, this was an abstract topic that beginner Dreamers wouldn't understand, which led to the original misunderstanding that Fame Dreamers were weak.
Once all three of them finished their evolution to Dreamers, they all looked at their bodies, astounded at the newfound strength.
Jorn couldn't hold it in any longer. He wanted to test out his new powers!
He activated his Teqx powers and 'slid' over towards the door! His feet smoothly glided over the concrete floor as if it had some sort of lubricant that made it super slippery! Jorn ecstatically skidded all over the room. He felt like he was a kid in the ice rink again, which wasn't entirely untrue. After all, that was exactly his new Teqx power.
[D-class Ice Skate Legs Power Teqx]
This Teqx allowed him to skate through any surface as if it were ice. And his feet, no matter if he was wearing rubber shoes or no shoes at all, would be surrounded by a thin layer of ice that smoothly glided on any surface, no matter how rough it was.
It gave Jorn the absolute freedom that he needed. He felt like he could skate through the whole world if he wanted!
Next was Roni. He closed his eyes and focused. After about a second, a floating puddle of ink shot out from his palms and morphed into a brush! This brush had a perpetual ink on the bristles, which meant he could paint using ink forever.
He then took out a small notebook from his pockets. This was his draft book where he practiced his drawing skills when he didn't have to do the laundry for his superiors at the Ruobber company.
He used the magical brush and started to furiously stroke the paper as if he was a madman. After a few seconds, his drawing was finally finished. His chest heaved up and down as he patiently waited.
Finally, the ink drawing on the notebook suddenly peeled itself off from the paper and floated in mid-air! Then, this drawing suddenly flapped its wings like a bird, because that's exactly what Roni drew on the notebook!
The cartoonish bluejay that he drew on the notebook came to life and landed on top of his head!
CHIRP CHIRP
[D-class Paper and Ink Drawing Creation Fame Teqx]