Chapter 157: Earning Your Favorability Instead

The two players acting as guards knew that Annan was “going out to get something.”

But they obviously didn’t expect that Annan had gotten so many items in just a simple trip.

“Do you want my help to grab those items?”

Seeing Annan slowly moving towards the city lord’s residence like a snail, they rushed over and asked enthusiastically.

Annan was carrying a heavy and square backpack like a high school student. He had a wooden tube around his waist that reached his knees. Sometimes when Annan walked, he would kick the wooden tube accidentally. There was a blanket in his hand. It was an unknown object wrapped in cotton cloth that was taller than Annan himself and looked like a giant lollipop. At first glance, it was heavy.

Annan glanced at the two players.

Are you greedy for my affection rate?

Mainly, the reaction of these two players felt like Déjà vu.

It was like those seniors who enthusiastically came to carry bags for younger juniors at the beginning of school every year.

Oh, wait, thinking myself a junior may be too far-fetched.

Those seniors are weird.

“Thanks a lot.”

Although Annan had been complaining about it, he showed a reserved and implicitly happy smile.

He nodded gently and quickly agreed, “Thanks for taking the trouble to help me.”

As Annan said, he handed over the wooden tube he used to store Elves’ Hand and the backpack with books to the two of them. The reason for not giving the sledgehammer to them was because Annan didn’t want them to know that this was the curse vessel he had newly acquired.

Otherwise, Annan would splurge the players with too much information.

Moreover, the players might be able to carry this hammer.

The sledgehammer was too heavy.

As a matter of fact, the players now have their Strength attributes at 6 points. Some of them had 5 points in Strength, and none of them had 7 points in Strength.

Although Annan appeared weak and short, his Strength attribute was at 10 points.

Indeed, Annan’s strength was much greater than these noobs.

But, Annan still did not refuse the players’ eager request for a mission.

It wasn’t because Annan was looking for an opportunity to give out the “only designated currency” like affection rate to players.

Annan deeply knew that the way to farm the affection rate quickly wasn’t to “help others” but to “ask for help.”

Asking for appropriate favors would foster closer relationships.

The more the other party committed, the greater your likability to that person. This phenomenon was often addressed as “effort justification [1].” In summary, humans consistently tended to find reasons to justify their efforts.

The greater the cost of achieving a goal, the higher the evaluation ratings of this goal in actors’ minds. Otherwise, it would cause a disorder between behavior, cognition, and attitude.

To put it simply, when Annan asked the players for help, the players would convince themselves that they believed that Annan should be helped and that they liked Annan to justify their behavior.

In childhood, many skater boys instinctively used this trick to strike up a conversation with their crush. For example, they would ask to borrow their crush’s books, ask for an eraser, ask the other party to share the textbooks, and make the relationship closer. The efficiency was far greater than “lending the book to the other party,” “helping the other party,” and so on.

For example, after the senior helped the junior girl carry the weight, the junior girl wouldn’t necessarily have any favorable impression of the senior.

However, when the junior girl helped the senior, the senior could easily earn a favorable impression. With that, the junior girl would ask for a favor another time.

In a sense, this was why simping [2] wouldn’t earn you anything.

As long as this small request was simple enough and wouldn’t trouble the target nor annoy the target, it would quickly establish trust in the relationship with more favors asked.

If Annan could give back a sufficient amount of “benefits” in time, this trust would quickly earn him a favorable impression of the players.

In RPG games, the feelings of the player to the NPC that issued the mission, and the player’s sense of participation in the game world, were developed through this technique. Even players’ joy and love for some challenging and frustrating hardcore games were built in this way.

These players still think that they were farming for Annan’s affection rate.

But that wasn’t the fact.

The fact was, Annan had been earning their affection and favorability.

Moreover, the process was efficient.

“Thank you both.”

In his room, Annan gestured to the two players seriously and invited them to sit.

Then, he sent 100 affection rates to both the players.

Even though the players didn’t help much. Annan had traveled so far with these items on his back. The players only took the things from the door into the room.

But in the face of Annan’s gratitude, the two of them just smiled and responded, “It’s fine. They aren’t heavy.”

“You’re too courteous!”

“You two work all night. I have already felt guilty of it.”

Annan nodded, “I will find a way to compensate you later.”

Hearing this, the two players looked a little embarrassed.

Because they knew in their hearts that they didn’t guard the place seriously at all.

Instead, they stood at the door and went AFK to watch the live broadcast forum.

“It’s okay. It’s all trivial matters.”

The player named “Anderson” subconsciously glanced at his companion “Leek” and coughed lightly, “Let’s go back to guard the door first. If we leave for too long, it won’t be good for someone to break in.”

“Thank you two.” Annan nodded and said gratefully.

Anderson and Leek left quickly.

When they left Annan’s door, they were happy to see their affection rate increase again.

“Don Juan is such a good boy.”

Anderson sighed, “He’s so likable.”

“That’s true,” Leek sighed, “In this dark world, he is still so pure and polite. It’s hard for him.”

“Yup, I will be a Don Juan fan for ten years from now.”

Anderson agreed, “No matter what new forces appear in the future, my heart is with the Freezing Water Port. With Don Juan’s amiable manners, it’s comfortable to work for him. Isn’t that enough?”

“It’s just there is no good-looking young lady for you to simp now.”

Leek saw through Anderson’s thoughts, “If there is a new force, I think you will betray on the spot if the villain leader is good-looking.”

Anderson was irritated, “Shut up, isn’t Don Juan good-looking?! You won’t get a date anyway, is there a difference? Don’t you just think of Don Juan as a beautiful girl?

“If there is a pretty girl leader, she must be spoiled, or she is independent and vigilant. Either way, do you think she will have such a good attitude towards us?

“It’s like silly friends boasting to each other! If there’s an opposite sex, do you dare to approach and talk to her?”

“…You are such a…genius.”

Leek swallowed the word “pervert” and replaced it with “genius.”

Because he suddenly fell into deep thoughts halfway through…

If I think about it carefully, it seems that is indeed the truth?