Chapter 2, The Troublemaker and Mario
May I advance my salary for this month
The standard value for adult males is 10. Attributes can be enhanced through attribute points obtained from tasks, or through equipment and items
Dreamers acquire skills through understanding and interaction with plotters, and their upgrades are not affected by doubling. Once they possess skills, they can also achieve skill upgrades through self-training, without consuming any currency points or skill points
Wang Ling understood that the exchange rate in this world should be a classic 100 copper coins to 10 silver coins to 1 gold coin. He took the coins in hand and immediately used the Dream Badge to check the data.
Wang Ling is aware of his identity as the chef of the Mario family, but unfortunately, apart from being able to prepare instant noodles, he possesses virtually no relevant culinary knowledge. Whenever he attempts to cook, he is bound to reveal his lack of skill.
Health Value: 45, Mental Value: 55, these two values are five times that of stamina and intelligence, represented externally by health and mana bars. If health falls below one-tenth, the body will enter a state of weakness; if mental value falls below one-tenth, a state of mental decline will ensue. Please take note
La la, la la, la la la
Is it possible for me to dance as well as you do
It is hard to believe that a Mario with such a physique excels in jumping
However, he is not worried; the dream space arranged for him to enter this scene world is not to cook for Mario, but to assist him in defeating the Bowser doppelgänger and rescuing the Mushroom Kid in order to obtain information about Princess Peach.
However, upon hearing Mario's question, Wang Ling suddenly felt a stir in his heart and spoke up: "What bad luck! Today, when I went to buy groceries, I tripped on the road and lost my purse."
This behavior also illustrates an important point: interacting with the characters in the storyline can yield benefits—of course, there must be appropriate reasons for doing so
As she walked along the beautiful garden path and reached the entrance of the fairy-tale style cottage, she heard the vibrant yet unpleasant singing coming from inside. Wang Ling, feeling somewhat speechless, adjusted her mindset with a hint of nervousness and anticipation, and knocked on the large door
After all, everything else is extraneous. As an ordinary person, he is still very much looking forward to acquiring abilities that surpass those of the average individual, even if it is merely a basic E-level skill
Looking at this so-called talent skill "Trouble Maker," Wang Ling couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time. If he had known he would end up with this, he would definitely have changed his mind and made the target sneeze loudly. Truly worthy of being an E-level skill, it is utterly useless!
Holding the coins of the Mushroom Kingdom, Wang Ling fell into deep contemplation
However, in order to test, Wang Ling still asked, "Mario, I have a question that I've wanted to ask you for a long time: how are you able to jump so high?"
At this moment, Mario cheerfully greeted him, saying: "Hi, Ling, what are you planning to eat today? Oh, didn't you go grocery shopping? Why did you come back empty-handed"
No problem
Trouble Maker, the highest level is Level 7, with each level unlocking a special ability. Current level: LV1. LV1 ability: Causes the target you are gazing at to experience a violent sneeze. This skill can only be used on humans
Wang Ling pondered for a while longer and used an E-level random exchange item, choosing: skill
Small Mental Potion, used directly, instantly restores 50 points of mental value and book value, cooldown time 10 minutes
"Hurry up and buy the groceries, or we won't have time to make lunch!" Mario urged.
However, since the choice has already been made, worrying and being entangled in thoughts will not change anything. Therefore, I decided not to dwell on it. Instead, I took a deep breath of fresh air and walked towards the two-story small building in the distance, which had a plaque with the letter "M" on it. Clearly, this should be Mario's home.
He turned his gaze back to the coins, gently stroking them in his hand. After a moment of contemplation, he chose not to directly exchange them for currency points—after all, there was no use for currency points at the moment. Instead, he placed them into his item space. At that moment, he discovered that identical gold coins could be stacked together.
The exchange between him and Mario, along with the mushroom coins in his hand, felt so real! It made him realize that this was indeed a dream world, different from the real world. Mario's performance indicated that the characters in the dream world also have flesh and blood, with their own thoughts and personalities
The three coins are all very beautiful, shimmering with an alluring metallic luster, brand new and bright. Each coin is twice the size of a 1 yuan coin in the real world. One side features a mushroom, while the designs on the other side vary: the pattern on the copper coin is a flower—clearly representing the fiery bloom during the fireball scene in this world; the silver coin displays a five-pointed star, and the gold coin features a charming portrait of Princess Peach.
The answer from the Dream Badge arrived quickly: "There are no restrictions, but upgrading skills requires the consumption of currency points and skill points. Skills can be directly obtained through methods such as using skill books and randomly exchanging items, with the currency points and skill points consumed during upgrades being doubled."
After organizing the relevant intelligence, Wang Ling used the Dream Badge to check the digitized physical data.
It seems that for the main storyline, it is sufficient to pass the first level, and the adventure is with Mario, rather than requiring the Dreamer to personally defeat Bowser's doppelgänger. In this world, Mario can grow larger by using red mushrooms and can enhance his ability to throw fireballs with fire flowers.
Talent skills possess uniqueness, and there will not be two dreamers with the same talent skill. You cannot acquire a talent skill a second time through items. This talent skill can be used once in any special ability at any level within a world scenario
You have obtained E-level ability, Type: Talent Skill, Name: Troublemaker. Special Note: Skill types are divided into four categories: Basic, Active, Passive, and Talent. The maximum level for Basic, Active, and Passive skills is level 10, while the maximum level for Talent skills is uncertain
Wang Ling did not feel disappointed; if skills could be easily obtained from the characters in the storyline, then the skills of dreamers would surely be abundant, which would not be a good thing
Mario dried the soap bubbles on his hands, used a key to open the drawer, took out a pouch, and handed over two gold coins, one silver coin, and one copper coin, saying: "According to the original agreement, your salary is 111 copper coins per month, and that extra gold coin can be considered as the food money for the remaining days of this month"
Looking at these items and pondering for a few seconds, Wang Ling inquired: "Is there a limit to the number of skills that dreamers can learn?"
The door opened directly, revealing that it had merely been ajar earlier. A middle-aged man, characterized by a distinctive appearance—featuring a thin mustache, a large nose, and big eyes—was wearing red underwear and a red T-shirt. He was cheerfully humming a tune while vigorously scrubbing a pair of green overalls in a large wooden basin.
The descriptions of silver, coins, and copper coins are fundamentally the same, with the only difference being that the exchange points have changed to 10 points and 100 points, making them more valuable
ID 10521 Personal Attributes: Strength: 8, Agility: 9, Stamina: 9, Intelligence: 11. Strength is related to physical attack power and carrying capacity; Agility is related to speed, jumping, and reaction ability; Stamina is related to health points, defense, physical fitness, and resistance; Intelligence is related to mental points, spells, illusions, and willpower.
"Oh, this is the result of my love for jumping since childhood," Mario casually replied as he sat down on the bench and continued to scrub his overalls.
Yes, I really like it. Can you teach me?
Mushroom Copper Coin, the currency of the Mushroom Kingdom, is a valuable item that can be exchanged for 1 Dream Space currency point
Mario raised his head and looked at Wang Ling with some surprise: "Do you also enjoy jumping?"
Oh, that is truly unfortunate
Upon seeing Wang Ling appear at the door, Mario stood up. Wang Ling noticed that this big-nosed, bearded man was less than 1.5 meters tall, quite stout, though not excessively overweight; otherwise, he would have resembled an oval-shaped ball.
E-level skill refresh stone, which immediately refreshes all E-level skills you possess, including the inherent skills on E-level equipment, to a usable state. This item is effective for any E-level skill
Wang Ling glanced at the three important attributes: strength, agility, and stamina, which had not yet reached the standard level of an adult male. However, his intelligence was quite good—of course, this does not refer to wisdom, but rather corresponds to the intelligence data in the game, which can be simply understood as "related to magic systems"
However, the benefits gained from utilizing the identity of a chef are extremely limited. Mario's greatest strengths lie in his jumping and head-stomping abilities. If one wishes to learn these skills, can they be acquired? The answer would undoubtedly be a refusal
Wang Ling was not in a hurry to leave; he knew that the news of Princess Biqi's abduction would likely reach here, which meant that the real game scenario should also be about to begin
As long as he transforms into Fireball Mario, defeating the Bowser clones should not be difficult. Moreover, in the first level, there are only a few types of enemies, all of which are quite easy to handle. Therefore, this is also the reason why this scene is rated at the lowest level: E level, after all, it is merely a beginner's task
Small Life Potion, used directly, instantly restores 50 health points, cooldown time 10 minutes
As the first protagonist of the series, Mario's character is naturally not evil; he is simple, optimistic, and courageous. This also leads him to unhesitatingly believe in the reason for the fallen coin pouch
His identity is that of a chef. Upon hearing Mario's question, he had a sudden inspiration and, citing the reason of an advance on his salary, obtained the coins. If he did not have this identity, would he be able to receive valuable coins from Mario? Clearly not.
After reviewing his personal attributes, Wang Ling opened the item space to check the items included in the novice gift pack. He discovered that this space was divided into sections, with only eight slots available, of which four were currently occupied: "E-level random exchange item, exchangeable categories: weapons, armor, accessories, items, skills, with a level restriction of E. Special note: The evaluation of equipment, items, skills, etc., has seven levels: X (note: represents perfect), S (note: represents super), A, B, C, D, E."
Unexpectedly, this short and stout popular star immediately shook his head vigorously, making a sound of "uh uh uh uh," and firmly refused, saying: "This is an important secret!"
The renowned Mario