Chương 15: The First Purchase

"Are these prices a joke?!" Hale stared at the items listed inside the system's Item Shop, letting out an annoyed yell. After catching a brief nap upon returning from the border town of Lagan, he was no longer fuming over the betrayal of those Seki women. After all, they were just ships that pass in the night. He had helped them, they had provided him with Merit points, so it wasn't like he had taken a complete loss on the deal. Though it still feel a bit heartbroken.

The one who had taken the brunt of the burden, as always, was Maddie. She had flown back and forth across the border all night just to transport both him, Ryan and their luggage back to the inn where their vehicle was parked—and she had done all that while still battling the lingering effects of the sedative. Hale had never seen Maddie look so visibly drained. He strictly ordered her to get some proper rest, declaring that they wouldn't hit the road again until she was back to a hundred percent.

He also swore a silent vow to himself that he would never again gamble the safety of the people around him just to farm a few cheap Merit points. To lift his own spirits, he pulled up the system's Item Shop feature the moment he woke, hoping to find something useful. Item Price Low-tier Healing Elixir 100 Merit High-tier Healing Elixir 500 Merit Low-tier Mana Potion 100 Merit High-tier Mana Potion 500 Merit Nourishing Tonic 100 Merit Spell-Resistant Cloak 2, 000 Merit Invisibility Cloak 500 Merit......

The shop listed over a thousand distinct items, each complete with a title, a miniature thumbnail, and a price tag. However, even the absolute cheapest item cost a whopping 100 Merit—essentially wiping out almost every single point he had painstakingly farmed so far! Hale felt like he was getting scammed by a gacha game. The system dangling a juicy piece of bait in front of his nose on a fishing rod, forcing him to haul it on his back like a donkey chasing a carrot.

Yet, he couldn't deny that the bait looked exceptionally delicious. Just reading the names of these artifacts sparked intense curiosity; these were clearly items you couldn't just pick up at a local market. Tapping on an item name brought up a detailed description. As it turned out, not every item was a permanent unlock; the vast majority were single-use consumables or temporary buffs.

Take the Invisibility Cloak, for instance—spending 500 Merit bought you roughly three hours of invisibility before the magic dissolved, rendering the cloak completely useless. Hale browsed through the catalog repeatedly, but he couldn't find what he was truly looking for. There was no magic potion capable of regenerating a severed arm. Over the past two weeks, with every passing day, the sheer inconvenience of missing his right arm had become increasingly undeniable.

The fact that he was slowly adapting to this broken body meant he was gradually forced to accept the harsh reality that he was permanently disabled. And that truth tasted exceptionally bitter. He did spot a scar-removal elixir in the catalog, but it carried a steep price tag of 2, 000 Merit. Hale wasn't overly vain about his looks, nor was this an era where people posted selfies online to show off, so he figured he could live with the scar for now.

Scrolling further down, nearly at the very bottom of the directory, his eyes locked onto an entry. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. | Prosthetic Arm | 2, 000 Merit | He frantically tapped the description box. Prosthetic Arm Description: The buyer may configure for left or right orientation, with custom length tailored to the user's anatomical proportions. Replicates the appearance and dexterity of a natural limb by 90%.

Capable of performing gripping, lifting, and holding tasks up to 50kg. Allows for the seamless flow and channeling of Mana. Exchange Value: 2, 000 Merit Duration: 30 Days Note: The prosthetic can perceive weight load, but does not provide tactile sensation. Hale could feel the stump of his remaining right arm throbbing with a dull ache, as if all the blood in his body were rushing directly toward it. I need this. But where the hell am I going to pull 2, 000 Merit from...?

As Hale lay flat on his back, wallowing in his poverty, a sudden commotion outside his window caught his attention. His room offered a direct view down onto the town's central thoroughfare, which was currently drawing a massive crowd. A procession of riders was making its way down the street. Leading the party was a young woman with neat, golden-blonde hair styled in an elegant braid trailing behind her neck. She wore a pristine white cloak trimmed with bold, gilded embroidery that seemed to catch the light.

She looked practically luminescent amidst the drab cobblestone streets. Judging by her slender build and refined attire, she clearly wasn't a frontline warrior. Yet Hale instinctively sensed an immense, latent power radiating from her. The onlookers lining both sides of the street treated her with unbridled admiration and reverence, indicating a status that was far from ordinary. For reasons he couldn't grasp, the longer Hale observed her, the stronger a strange sense of familiarity grew within him.

A sudden tightness gripped his chest as he scrambled to catch the fleeting, hazy impression lingering at the edge of his mind. Another residual memory from this body? Suddenly, as if sensing his gaze, the golden-haired girl below raised her head and looked directly toward his window. Hale ducked down below the windowsill in a flash. He had no logical explanation for why he reacted so frantically; he simply acted on pure, unadulterated instinct.

Moments later, when he cautiously peeked back outside, the procession had already moved far down the avenue. Feeling thoroughly unsettled, he crawled back onto his bed, trying to pass the time by brainstorming fresh ways to farm Merit points. Roughly an hour later, the system interface abruptly flashed open with a notification. NOTIFICATION The Black Conifer Bandit Gang has been officially dismantled.

The Host has successfully eradicated a significant threat to public safety, delivered justice for past victims, and eliminated potential future hazards posed by this syndicate. Merit +1, 000 Hale bolted upright like a coiled spring. He had never won so much as a scratch-off ticket in his entire previous life, but now he knew exactly how it felt to have a jackpot drop straight out of the sky into his lap. A thousand Merit points!

So the system didn't merely evaluate the immediate, short-term impact of his actions—it calculated the long-term butterfly effect those actions had on the broader community! That brought his current grand total to 1, 123 Merit points! He was now just under 900 points shy of purchasing the prosthetic arm. While 900 was still a substantial number, it no longer felt like a pipe dream entirely out of reach. Hale jumped off the bed, breaking into a chaotic, uncoordinated victory dance.

He immediately wanted to rush out and share the incredible news with Maddie and Ryan. Yet, the moment the thought crossed his mind, the grin vanished from his face. He hadn't been the one to dismantle the bandit gang, nor had he contributed anything substantial toward getting the Seki women home safely. What right did he have to hoard all these points for his own selfish desires? If anyone deserved a reward, it was Maddie. Taking a deep breath to rein in the surge of excitement, he sat back down on the mattress.

He pulled up the Item Shop again, carefully reading through the descriptions of a few select items. After a brief thirty-second internal struggle over spending his hard-earned points, he tapped the purchase button for two specific items. A bottle of High-tier Healing Elixir and a bottle of Nourishing Tonic. NOTIFICATION Purchase Successful! Purchased goods have been transferred to the System Inventory. Unused or reusable items purchased from the shop may be stored in the inventory at any time.

Hale accessed the system inventory interface. It presented a grid of empty slots displaying miniature illustrations of the stored items, complete with exact quantities and expiration details. Tapping the screen, he withdrew the two items he had just bought. Out of thin air, two exquisitely crafted glass vials materialized into his left hand. The smaller vial holding a shimmering golden liquid was the healing elixir; the larger vial containing a deep blue fluid was the nourishing tonic.

Grasping both, Hale stepped into the hallway and knocked on the door to Maddie and Ryan's room. Within ten seconds, the door swung open. Aside from wearing her nightwear, Maddie showed zero signs of having actually been asleep.

"Master? Do you require something?"

"Uh... mind if I step inside?" Stepping into the room, he saw Ryan still passed out cold on his floor mattress. It seemed the dosage of sedative he had ingested was quite heavy for a child's body.

"How is the injury on your shoulder holding up, Maddie?" Hale asked softly. Maddie gave her standard, stoic reply: "It is nothing to be concerned about." Hale pulled the two glass vials out from his pocket.

"I managed to acquire these two potions, a healing elixir and a nourishing tonic. The healing elixir is applied directly to the wound, so if you—" Maddie's brow creased slightly.

"Did you go outside to purchase these? Why did you not call me to accompany you?"

"No, I didn't step outside. These... were granted to us because of the good deeds we accomplished. Just consider them a divine blessing from the gods. I checked the details carefully; they are fully effective on Dragonborn too. Can I take a look at your shoulder?" Maddie looked visibly skeptical, but countered gently, "If these are high-grade medicines, you should reserve them for yourself, Master." Hale let out a long sigh, realizing he had to pull rank.

"This is a direct order. Let me see the wound."